LOAD STATE THREE
by Ysavvryl
Summary: never end never end never end will you kill out of frustration never end never end never end never end i just don't want you to leave me alone okay never end never end never end never end cry cry cry die die die never end never end never end never end that's a wonderful idea never end never end never end never end a fractured story from fractured minds never end never end never end
1. Fractured Minds

**LOAD STATE THREE**

 _A/N: I was in the mood to write something crazy, so here's something crazy. Also, this story does depend on you knowing Undertale's story, so please don't read further if you don't want spoilers or don't want to be even more confused. I used very little of the game's actual script because it's excellent on its own. Due to the fractured nature of this piece, I simply skipped around canon scenes._

 **Chapter 1: Fractured Minds**

never end never end never end

Well thanks for that mess. Coward.

S-sorry! I…

You don't have time.

I couldn't…

We could have had the power to change the world. Now you're turning to dust and I… I…

You'll?

 **I'll find a way.**

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* * *

"What a lovely knife." It was in a neatly wrapped present box, blood red ribbon tied around a smooth white paper slightly tinted with pink. A child with ragged black hair plucked it out of the box, smiling like another child might on getting a desired toy. However, this knife was no mere toy.

The child was no mere child anymore. Something has to be done, and soon. The pair have gone beyond redemption as the silent fearful underworld attests to. They radiate coldness, sharpness, mercilessness, and hatred. Much like the knife that was not innocent itself.

If this continues, there is no hope for the world. There will be blood and pain, repeatedly, until boredom sets in and everything

every possibility

 **everything ends.**

Or perhaps

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* * *

…?

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* * *

"DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE AGAIN! _Please_."

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* * *

Face to face, soul vs soul, dream vs dream. What right did he have to judge? The deep eye sockets took on a gleam of power, glittering in darkness. "No, we can tell a weed from a flower," he said, a serene light air to his words until they condensed to a darker determination. "You, on the other hand, pretend to be a flower when you come to destroy the whole garden."

"Hmph, what can you do?" he said, although he felt a chill as though facing a freshly sharpened knife. He readied a ring of energy bullets and closed them in tight as a noose.

Then the lazy skeleton wasn't there and before he knew it, he had to pick back up from his last save, twelve hours ago. But the skeleton's voice lingered in his mind, dismissing his question. "I think you should reconsider things. What are you even doing this for?"

He shrieked in rage. "At least take me seriously!"

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* * *

Ah, that's the situation. The monsters have been sealed underground since losing a war against humanity, behind a barrier that you can go in, but not out. That's history, but now there's a hole in the earth and a few humans have gotten in to never get out. More worrisome than that, the timelines seem to be growing ever darker, snuffing out hope for the whole world. It's spiraling around an anomalous entity capable of restarting. Save scummer.

You don't know what kind of angel you're getting. But you need to do something before this entity reaches completion. Furthermore, I don't have any connection to your world. You have nothing to offer. Things have just gotten that desperate for you.

Show me more.

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* * *

At one point, there were two of them in the underground. They seemed to be friends of a sort, at least allies. "Don't be a ninny," the girl said. She wore a ballet costume of pink and sequins, like nothing the monsters around here had ever seen. She was graceful, twirling and weaving with her red hair streaking around behind her motions... then kicking with those powerful legs of hers to turn many innocent monsters to dust.

"But it's dark and there's sure to be deep holes just like..." the boy shuddered. He wore odd glasses that clouded with a magical effect on them; humans hadn't lost their magical ability then. While she was aggressive, he held back, copying down what he read, saw, and observed in a tidy notebook. Like many times before, he had been sitting here watching quietly, not bothering anyone.

"Well if you'd just practice some, you'd get stronger so you won't be afraid even of that," she said, confident. "Like me. They're the monsters." Her tone was if she thought them no better than discarded gum. "Besides, didn't you hear their plan? They're out to get us, so we better get them first."

"B-but surely the ones who made the seal would have made it so humans could get out if they ended up here," the boy said, fearful. "Couldn't we just, um, sneak past?"

"What, you think they're just going to let us waltz on into their royal castle to get to the barrier?" the girl asked, turning about in annoyance. Fine dust came off her tutu like mist, a taint of death. "Get real."

They were teenagers, not quite innocent children and not quite mature adults. He'd been uneasy about the plan when it got announced. But, it was for the good of all monsters. There was hope now among many that they could get to the surface. Yet, the cost, was it worth it? Or would that taint them all with death? He could rationalize killing the girl since she had killed so many herself. But the boy? Had he killed, at all? He just seemed curious, meek. Bullied by his partner.

All of a sudden, an odd voice squealed. A flash of white bounded into the air, towards the humans. "HUNAN! Sio kyuuuuuteeee!" A misfit Temmie bowled the boy over to land on his chest; causing a hard thump when his head hit the rock floor. She pawed at his face, curling her tail. "Hoi hunan! Ai'm Temmye!"

The girl, who had been briefly shocked at the arrival of the feline-canine, narrowed her eyes at the Temmie and kicked her into the wall. "Leave my minion be, rat!"

The Temmie hissed. "Temmye niot a stinky rats!"

As weird as they were, the Temmies were still neighbors. He came out of the shadows, gripping his war hammer once more. "Hold it..."

 _crack_

The Temmie stared, shivering at the sight. It disgusted him too, but... that was the dangerous one down. Another soul to save monsterkind. As for the boy...

It would have been better if the Temmie's initial tackle had killed him. His cheek was swelling further from where the Temmie had pawed at it and he gasped for breath. In the boy's spirit, there was fear and disorientation. It unsettled him and he had been through the great war. Although, that had been a long time ago.

While it made him feel sick, the only thing that he could think of to do was give him mercy.

That was two souls for Asgore's plan and by god, he did not want to further that cause any more.

 **The lesson here is that kindness only makes your death more agonizing. I prefer making death to others agonizing.**

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* * *

Cooking with a Killer Robot. So many had watched it. So many TVs, so many conversations, so many rooms, so many hopes… that it wouldn't end in bloodshed?

"...a HUMAN SOUL!" The blocky hunk of metal on a wheel pulled out a chainsaw from a cabinet that had no door. It wasn't even turned on, didn't even have gas to run. Still, he edged closer as if he would turn it on.

Hundreds of hearts beat quicker, hoping something would save the girl.

She had to use a stepstool to work on the counter, she was that small. But she didn't move. Silently, she watched the robot without fear. You won't do it.

 **DO IT! I'm sick of this timeline, get it over with!**

 _N-no… no! Don't do it._

A phone rang.

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* * *

I'm not heartless. Far from it. I simply need to see things for myself before I can commit to something like this.

Right, determination will be key. They have determination, so whoever I choose must have equal or greater. The king has six, so we need to get your last guardian of that timeline to convince the anomaly to wait for the seventh. There's only two possible ways to get in, through the crevice and through the barrier itself. Once time is allowed to pass, we can work on which human enters as the seventh.

But I'm not forcing them. Please understand, it's not really my place to do so. I will help them.

Of course, your anomaly will be watching closely as I become another anomaly. It will be the seventh human soul; I will be a threat to it. We just have to hope that it doesn't expect what you did in calling for help.

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* * *

Love never meant anything to me; it was a convenient way to use others. All that's happened has convinced me that growing more distant is the best way. You see, **there's nothing like the thrill of taking control of someone else's life**. But you've got to keep things interesting. Even murder loses some of the thrill unless interesting things happen. I need more control.

But love means you're safe. Love means that someone cares about you, and you have someone to care about. Love makes even simple things wonderful. Love is butterscotch. I want to feel love again. I don't want to hurt people anymore. I don't want to watch this!

Love makes you weak. LOVE makes you strong. Don't you get it?

Don't you love me? And Mom and Dad too?

 **I'm getting bored. It's time to up the ante.**

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* * *

"Leave me alone!" She flailed wildly with her shining weapon. But, it was a mere toy, made of weak materials and dull edges. It was wielded in fear, not in a killing intent. She even lost one of her flip-flops in her wild actions.

Even if it had been with killing intent, she was out of luck. "You'd get nowhere out there. But you're getting nowhere sticking around here either. You're weak, you'll starve if you just hide in this dusty old place. But if you do manage to leave, the only way to go is through the snowy road."

"Poppa will come for me, I know," she said, faithful and fearful. "Get away from me, both of you!"

The spirit chuckled. "Aren't you confident? Don't worry. The king has just announced something very interesting. Even you could be worthwhile. Here." It took advantage of a moment of her weariness to grab her nose and enter her body through there.

The girl screamed and yanked at her own hair, pulling out her ribbon and letting it fall to the ground. "Get out of me!"

"Chill, chill, you'll just hurt both of us. Probably you more than me."

"What's going on over here?" a woman's voice called in concern.

"Whoa, that's," the spirit seemed worried at that.

"Help me!" the girl screamed, dropping her toy knife on accident.

"We ain't hanging around for this one," the spirit said, using all of its power to lift the girl's body up and fly away towards the exit of the ruins. And just in time as none other than the queen of monsters came into sight then. If she'd been here a moment later, this could have been disastrous.

They couldn't go far like that, especially not with the girl struggling. The spirit had to drop her into a pile of snow and get out of her to recover. However, the cold would not bother him. She was barefoot, dressed for summer, and weakened in staying in the ruins so long. All he had to do was wait.

And probably find some stronger monster to help carry her all the way to the castle. That would help.

 **If she'd just fought, she'd have been strong enough to defend herself.**

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* * *

I'll get you.

LOAD STATE ONE

I'll get you.

LOAD STATE ONE

I'll get you.

LOAD STATE ONE

You know what I'm doing, don't you?

LOAD STATE ONE

You're going to suffer over and over again.

LOAD STATE ONE

I do not offer Mercy.

LOAD STATE ONE

I can do this to the end of time.

LOAD STATE ONE

How long can your determination hold out?

LOAD STATE ONE

Heh heh heh.

LOAD STATE ONE

I'll get you.

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* * *

"That kid seemed pretty desperate when he said you were the only one who understood him."

 **Heh. You understand why I like him so much?**

Smile. "Yes. I never had anybody like that. If we wanted to draw this out, I could have fun messing with somebody like that. Maybe that spunky first grader."

 **I'm just waiting on him to connect the dots and get really desperate. When he pleads that he'd do anything for me, that's when he gets the knife.**

"That's beautiful, just like I imagine you."

 **If anyone understands me, it's you. It would be so nice if I had my own body again. You might the one other human I could tolerate**.

"I agree so much. Chara?"

 **Yes Chara?**

"We're taking this all the way, aren't we?"

 **Well you are a novelty for the moment, but it's got to end on our terms. But we've got to tolerate him in order to do this.**

"At least he's fun."

 **Right… wait… something's happening.**

"Is that… someone else who can SAVE?"

 **This timeline was totally solid! What's going on?!**

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* * *

It was a lovely morning in Snowdin. For a relative view of morning, since there was no way the real sun could be seen at this depth. But there was a steady magical light that allowed the enduring pine trees down here to grow profusely. It made a heavenly perfume of snow and evergreen that one got used to until one left and realized how beautiful it was. Colorful twinkling lights were wrapped around the dark green trees, giving the area a magical feel. In the traditions of this town, the lights and decorations were changed out every month. This month, the lights were all green and decorations were green leaves with holly berries and pinecones. Some had thought it wouldn't work at first, but it made the forest soul look powerful.

The library was dark as it was not yet open. By the pine wood door, an unusual flower with golden petals waited. He had a face, even a voice. He had arrived early, but spent that time in thought with his petals drawn over his face. There had to be a reason.

Crunches in the snow made the flower open up his blossom. The librarian was a creature that was not quite a dog person and not quite a mole, with shaggy brown fur. "Hello there," the librarian said kindly, looking down at the flower. "You're an unusual monster."

"I'm not from around here," he said in a voice like a young boy. "My name is Flowey. I wanted to read something, but I can only move myself through the ground and can't easily pick up a book. I can turn the pages myself, though. So, would you help me get a book to read?"

"Sure thing, lad, come right in," the librarian said.

The flower bobbed his head in a nod and burrowed in the ground to get into the wood flooring of the library. At least it wasn't rock, that took a lot more energy to get through. He got in a spot he'd picked out before figuring out the difficulty of plucking out just one book with his vines, then waited on the librarian to be done with kicking snow off her feet and turning the lights on so she could come over.

SAVE STATE 2

"What kind of book do you want?" the librarian asked.

"Do you have anything about souls?" Flowey asked back. "I was trying to figure something out."

She rubbed her chin at that. "Souls… I know there's plenty of books on the subject. The best book on the subject we have is 'Science on the Spiritual', but that's a hefty text for a little flower like you."

"That's hard to understand," he said. "But I can work my way up, right? Where's a good basic book to start?"

Impressed by his spirit, the librarian smiled. "You could do that. It'd be a lot of books, but here, we could start you on 'A Youth's Manual of Science'." Once he agreed, the librarian went to the children's section to bring over a worn but well illustrated book.

Flowey carefully used a non-thorny vine to shift through the pages, reminding himself of basic scientific principles. In the back, it had some suggestions for where to go from there. He asked the librarian for a matching youth manual on magic since that would eventually figure into his study on souls. Getting through both books took the whole day, but there were still more books to read.

LOAD STATE 2

"What kind of book do you want?" the librarian asked, believing they'd only met a couple minutes ago.

"Do you have the textbook series 'Magical Matters?" Flowey asked.

She nodded. "Yes, but it's reserved for students of this town. Although there aren't many children around in the program right now."

"Well could I register as a student here?" he asked.

"Normally we'd need a student's parents to register them," the librarian said. "Are you serious about studying?"

"Yes, very much." Studying could be boring, but that was if he wasn't interested in the subject. But this was for information he had to know. Something was wrong with him and he had to know what. And understanding this new power would help greatly.

"I don't see how it could hurt," she said, then went to get a clipboard to write down his name as a student.

And since this would take a lot of time…

SAVE STATE 2

There were twenty-three books in the Magical Matters series meant to teach magic to young monsters. Flowey started with the first. Every time it gave him a review assignment suggestion, he stopped to think it through. Some of it he already knew but some of it he had to read carefully through.

LOAD STATE 2

A soul was comprised of many qualities. Most people excelled in one or two qualities and were poor in one or two others. In some, there might even be a missing quality due to mental conditions. There was even a difference between monster and human souls, although since monsters had been sealed underground for so long, there wasn't a lot of knowledge on what made the difference between the two. A few differences were known, including that human souls could persist after death for quite some time while monster souls couldn't. Although, the souls of boss monsters could persist a very short time after death. And if the fallen monster's dust was spread over something they loved, something of their essence would be imbued in the item.

While the textbooks claimed it was mostly superstition, that explained a little of what was going on. But not everything. Flowey kept reloading this day in the library and kept reading. His search spread out on tangents that seemed interesting, such as a lengthy study on plants. Eventually…

LOAD STATE 2

"Could you get me 'Science on the Spiritual'?" Flowey asked the librarian.

She paused on that, still believing they'd only met a couple minutes ago. "Are you sure on that?" she asked, raising a furry eyebrow. "That's a very advanced text, most than most students could attempt."

"I'm sure I got it now," he said. Although he was worried that he'd already found the answers.

"I see. You now, somehow I feel like you could, though I'm not sure how I feel it of you," the librarian said.

Could she sense the LOAD magic? "It's the look in my eyes, ain't it?" Flowey asked. "I know things, like how you keep a jar of hidden candies in the desk over there and buy from different merchants so that people don't realize how much of it you eat."

The librarian's short dog-like tail went still. "Ah, ahem, you do seem sharp enough for a book like that. Okay, I'll get that for you. Erm, and do you want a piece of candy too? Only if you'll keep it quiet."

"I will, I promise," Flowey said, silently adding to himself that the promise only held until he next loaded. Or went back to one of his earlier files. "It'd be nice if I had a chocolate candy, actually."

Nodding, the librarian went to get him the book and a chewy chocolate candy. It took a few reloads to get through the whole book, meaning he got a few other pieces of chocolate candy too. But that was about the only nice thing. This book had more in-depth knowledge but the core of it was the same. Monster souls were known for holding the traits of joy, compassion, mercy, and love. While there were other traits, love was most important of all. Love was an important part of the soul.

But flowers had no traits. Flowers had no souls. All he had was what he remembered and what he had been given. That being determination. That was why he remembered the happiness that came with being with people he loved but could not feel it again. He couldn't feel it ever again.

He screamed in rage, startling the others in the library. Of course, that upset the librarian and made her come over. "Please be..." she paused, shuddering as a murderous intent erupted out of Flowey.

"SHUT UP!" Flowey shouted, casting a spell that summoned a ring of fire around him. He snapped out a thorny flaming vine at the librarian and knocked her clear through her desk. As the books started to go up in flames, he threw other bursts of fire at the doors and windows. " ** _You will burn with me_ _."_**

With the magic he'd learned over this study, the library turned into an inferno in seconds. Burning pages, burning fur, burning flesh, screaming… harsh hot light of pain enlightened these people who had seen him as just some strange little golden flower that could talk and read. He briefly took control of their lives and ended them.

 _It was so **satisfying**._

LOAD STATE 2

Of course, the death hurt. But the death didn't last. The library was back to the quiet peaceful morning where it was just him and the librarian. Tilting his blossom downward, Flowey took a deep breath in his whole body. He shouldn't be doing things like that. But there was something that felt nice about it, more than trying to feel love again.

The librarian thought she'd just finished up registering Flowey as a student, but she went still again. "What was that chill just now?" she mumbled.

Calm down. "Just a draft, I'd imagine," Flowey said. "Could you get me 'Science on the Spiritual'? I haven't finished it yet."

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* * *

A child hero is a tricky one to work with. They're quick to learn and impressionable. When guiding them, even out of their notice like this, they will pick up on your intentions and methods. Given what we're working against, this could be very bad if the other spirits involved gain too much influence. They'd be hurt more easily than an adult.

Then again, they'll adapt more easily than an adult. The right child would accept such a big change more readily. Then there's the fact that the anomaly has been drawing children and teenagers to the underground already. Even the genocidal one you're worried about is a child corrupted to believe in power more than love. Even the anomaly is young.

I watched the humans too, yes. And I've seen a child around the same town that the genocidal one came from who I think can be guided on a better path. They are very determined. In seeing the genocidal one, I don't think they will easily do what's needed. They're lacking something from the start: empathy. Just like the anomaly. The other child fits our needs better.

Of course, we're dealing with the power of SAVE/LOAD. The timeline you're worried about is pretty strong, enough so that the two timelines will compete directly. Our child hero might have a hard time dealing with the genocidal one. But I've got an idea for you.

I know it's a risk. I'm sorry. But then, you called me in because lots of timelines are ending violently. You do want a better resolution to overtake the violence?

Are we agreed then?

I do care now. I want to save your world too.

Good.

NEW GAME START

Is this a test? Or perhaps their influence is that strong. Let's hope...

NAME THE FALLEN CHILD

 **Chara**

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	2. Double Vision, Triple Time

**Chapter 2: Double Vision, Triple Time**

They're both here.

Ebott Town stood at the base of the infamous mountain. While the town wasn't large, people said it was important. The mountain had to be guarded as it was where people disappeared. It was also where monsters had disappeared a thousand years ago. On a good night, people in town could see the shine of the barrier high on the mountainside. If the monsters came out, this town would be the first to know.

In the center of town, school buildings surrounded a field that was used as a playground and running track for the students. They all got a break right after lunch to come out here so all age groups could mingle. Most played, but some older students would set up a tutoring corner to help the younger ones. Today, though, something special was going on. There was a big paper taped onto a wall where students were signing a pledge. On top, bright green marker noted why. 'In support of Erin, we who sign this promise to not bully those who are different.'

The first grade classes were the last to get out due to a test. All of them gladly went over to sign under the non-bullying list. Smiling, one first-grader picked out a red crayon (the best color) and looked over the different columns. The name 'Frisk, 1A' was added in red under the third column of names.

"Huh, well that's a weird name," one of the teenagers said, adding the name 'Chara, 7B' also in red under the fourth column of names.

"We could start a weird name club," Frisk suggested, putting the crayon back in place. "Then we could make it so everybody wants a weird name."

"You got spunk," Chara said, mussing up the younger student's hair.

 _ **My name** …_

Look into their hearts. Both have powerful determination. Seven years between them, no family ties, and they're two sides of the same coin. Either could qualify for what you want.

Chara. One time, she felt angry because other students had cheated and the teacher included her in the punishment. She insisted on seeing copies of all of the supposedly cheated reports, not giving up even though it took three weeks to get them. Then she pointed out the differences between her report and those who had cheated to prove her innocence. But even though Chara's name was cleared, that wasn't enough. She then got an itch-inducing powder and made sure it got on the teacher, the school secretary, and the cheating students. It put a couple of them in the hospital, but Chara did not care. That satisfied her.

Frisk. One time, she felt saddened for her mother was going away on a long business trip. But the child promised to be good and not cry about it. It was hard, especially when her father was working long hours as a guard for the mountain. Frisk kept brave and did not cry for her mother. And she had done a great good without realizing it. She looked up to Erin and had a long talk with them one day after school. While she doesn't know it yet, that talk is why Erin is under special care instead of a worse fate.

Frisk's the one we want. Come on, lost soul, ye strange and sad creature. Ignore the name and don't take the seventh grader. Take the first grader.

They promise not to bully and mean it.

 _Frisk…_

Some of the students gathered around the swingset to talk of something the fourth grade classes are learning. "The monsters are powerful in magic and can curse humans in awful grotesque ways," a boy said. "And there's something even worse than that: they can steal the souls of humans to become even more terrible and powerful."

"Yeah, and a monster that gets seven human souls at once can become like a god," another boy said. "There was once this bad one that did just that, and he built a tower of bones from which he killed lotsa humans and even other monsters to make sure nobody got as powerful. But humans got the better of him in the end and then won out over all the other monsters and sent them deep into Mount Ebott."

Chara smiled and added in dramatic tones, "Yeah, and I hear it told from the mountain guards that sometimes there's a pounding and strange growl at the barrier's seal. If you get too close, the dark shadow of a great beast monster with terrible horns and wide wings can appear. They're trying to get out for vengence."

Several of the other children paled or cried out at that. "I don't want no ugly monster to steal my soul," a girl said in a frightened voice.

However, Frisk was not afraid. "I don't think all monsters are bad," she said. "Maybe a few are, like a few humans are bad, but not all are bad. There's lots of good people, so there's got to be lots of good monsters too."

"Yeah, and it's been a thousand years, about," one of the older girls said. "They probably know better. It'd be great if we could talk with them and see if things can be worked out."

"Or they might be steamed and ready for revenge," Chara said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Could be why people keep disappearing up the mountain; they get lured into crossing the barrier and then end up eaten for their souls."

"Chara, knock it off," the older girl said, giving her a sharp look. Chara smirked at her, causing her to snort and look aside. "Seriously. The monsters can't break the barrier, only we can. If we drop them a line and they're still mad, we don't have to risk anything."

 _Don't be afraid. Speak up child._

"We should start talking to make peace," Frisk said. It was something her Mom said, but usually about other countries.

"More like we'd be safest if we took care of them once and for all," Chara said, not taking the younger student seriously.

"But people and monsters used to work together, that's what my Gran says," Frisk insisted.

 _Take care of them once and for all. Making peace is **impossible.**_

But wouldn't it be more interesting to see what happens when they try?

 _I was getting bored._

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* * *

Something enters the town, under the cover of the brilliant red sky of sunset. They've been watching all day, watching for one with determination, watching for the last soul. They've made a split decision. With that indecision, the coin is tossed, wildly spinning into the future.

HEADS

 _ **My name.**_

Thirteen year old Chara downed the last of the soda, then looked thoughtfully at the plastic cup. Ignoring the loud voices behind the door, she bent the cup back and forth until the stress line was more visible. Once there, another bend is all it takes to cause a break, then she tore the cup apart into a spiral. The edges were sharp, the inside still damp from the soda.

"Now what?" she muttered. The people she usually hung out with were turning cowardly, not wanting to join her on her plots. They worried about getting in trouble. Although, she didn't want to get caught either. She wasn't quite strong enough to do exactly what she wanted and was still young enough that people questioned her hanging around so late.

"Chara?! What are you doing?"

"Not answering you," she grumbled. Especially not when both of them were drinking already. It'd be better for her to go off and do something, not coming back until way late when they'd both be out.

She thought briefly over the discussion in the school yard, wondering if it would be worth it to break into the barrier and fight some monsters. It sounded a lot less boring that everything else she was doing. Besides, she could get back out, claim she'd fought in self-defense and say they were hostile, get recognized as a hero. Then people would treat her with respect and she could do what she wanted. Out of sight, though. If they saw what she wanted to do, they'd be rightly terrified.

The thought made her smile.

 _Come, you have a great destiny._

The compelling voice came across like the wind, causing Chara to look out into the large well-kept yard. Down the street, a path up Mount Ebott began. Only guards were allowed that way, but the fence had gotten broken the other day. Tossing the torn cup at a bin and not caring if it missed, she headed back inside to empty out her school bag. It would be helpful even if she's not sure what's calling her. On a moment's thought, she stole her father's pocketknife, then headed out towards Mount Ebott.

TAILS

 _You promised._

Six year old Frisk made sure there were no other dirty dishes around, then closed up the dishwasher and started it. With that chore taken care of, she headed over to a coat rack where a dog leash was waiting. "Gran! I'm taking Frisco out!"

"Okay, thank you," the old woman said.

The strong black dog was as tall as the child, but obediently stayed near her, easy to lead. As the sun was setting, it wasn't a good time to take the dog on a full walk. But Frisco needed to take care of his business and Frisk always liked being outside whenever she could.

 _Come, you have a great destiny._

The voice came out across the wind, making Frisk look out into the wooded land past the backyard. Her family's home was right on the edge of town, right on the lowest part of Mount Ebott. All her life, Frisk had been told that there was a certain marker not to go past when playing among the trees. Especially not when a recent storm had knocked out part of the fence keeping people from climbing Ebott. It had been put up fifty years ago when several children in a row got lost on the mountainside and never returned home. There hadn't even been a trace of them.

But something was calling, no, compelling Frisk up the mountain.

Since Frisco was done, Frisk took the dog back inside. She emptied out her school bag, somehow knowing it would be needed. Just in case, she took some bandages, a flashlight, and an apple. As she was thinking that it was good to be prepared, some part of her worried that something weird was going on. But it was a call to adventure. Frisk liked reading adventure stories; maybe this was time for an adventure of her own.

She headed up Mount Ebott without warning anyone.

Never end never end never end

* * *

There's a plan. It's about all I know. Everything else is fragments.

"Hey, quit crying Asriel," I said, pinching at his fuzzy white ears. "You're not a baby… or are you?"

"N-no, I'm not a baby," Asriel said, sniffling and rubbing at his black eyes. Weak and pitiful, but he's fun to keep around. "But the other kids saw me and ran off."

Of course they did. They had asked me to show them one of my tricks and **I did** , telling them that I'd do it again if they got near Asriel. "Meh, you run into meanies everywhere. Don't worry about them. You still got me, right?"

"Y-yeah." He smiled.

Cute smile, still a weakling. I **like** it when he looks up at me in admiration.

"H-hey, Chara? Will you…?" _crack_ "Chara, will you…?" _crack_ "...tell me about where you came from again?"

"It sucks, but if you want." Maybe another thing that was horrible. Give him nightmares (my nightmares, I don't need 'em). Or one of the things that was fun. _Crack_ Yeah, fun. "I..." _crack_ "had a dog. Ugly squat thing, and really annoying. Heh, but he could be fun. Like, I'd get a bunch of empty cans and tie 'em on a string, then sneak it on his collar while he was sleeping. Then I'd make a loud yell and wake him up. Dog would jump and yap, only to get the cans all clattering. Boy, his eye would go so wide and he ran about all crazy scared from all the noise he was making himself. Idiot." Still makes me laugh.

"Your dog only had one eye?" Asriel asked. "Poor dog, but that is pretty funny."

"I said he was ugly. Oh, but the best was the couple of times that I got a sparkler on him." Set several fires that way, **magnificent** fires that got me in trouble, but whatever.

 _Crack_

Right, that's the past. Right now… I sense two lives running parallel to each other. Odd. I'm here calling the last human child to their sacrificial fate. But I've got two children, in different timelines. They've both got brown skin and black hair; they've both got powerful souls of a vibrant red. Two sides of the same coin and the only difference I see is size from a seven years age gap. The only way I can think for this to be happening is if someone else like me is involving themselves.

Interesting. Who will dominate and become truth?

Let's… assign the older child to file two and the younger child to file three. Yes, that works. Let them play around with this power, then see which is the stronger soul. That timeline will then be truth. Whatever happens, **I'll get what I want.** This is just an amusing way to handle the last soul.

Although, who allowed this to happen?

NEW GAME TWO

"God, those things are gaudy," Chara said, taking a moment to dust pollen off her dark clothes. But it was clingy, putting a fine yellow layer on her striped shirt as well as her hands. Trying harder only made her sneeze. At least pollen wasn't as bad as the golden flowers that she landed in. For being in a cave, some of these plants were huge and bright.

It seemed the pollen wasn't coming off, so she took a look around her. She'd fallen quite a ways chasing that strange goat kid. Although the huge flowers were gross, they had broken her fall, letting her land safely on a bed of smaller golden flowers. What was she doing here? There had been that weird kid, maybe a monster? He'd been beckoning her, barely showing himself ever since she left her home. Chara turned and saw a pair of pillars topped with an arch marked by a peculiar symbol, a trio of triangles surrounded at the tip with a circle. Something...

 _crack_

Something seemed very familiar here.

"Howdy," a little boy's voice said down near the ground. "You seem familiar."

She looked down and saw not a little boy, just more flowers. However, one of the two feet tall blossoms was looking up at her with a weird face between its petals. "I don't remember any talking flowers."

never end never end never end

* * *

There was something unsettling about this Chara, Toriel thought. She didn't like staying around the house, instead going out to explore the ruins. When she got back, she said she'd done nothing although she often had the yellow pollen from the flowers on her. One of the first things she'd asked about was why there weren't any knives in the kitchen, then what would happen if you poked a Loox. She talked to herself when in the room Toriel had given her, sometimes laughing. Then there was her name, familiar and yet belonging to a girl this time.

She had spoken about that. "People around Ebott Town said it was a cursed name, but my parents were like, fuck, whatever."

"Are you sure you should be using that kind of language?" Toriel asked, not quite able to get sharp about it because of what else she'd said. The humans thought 'Chara' was a cursed name.

"Well that is what they say," Chara said, not bothered by it. "'parently it belonged to some kid who disappeared up on Mount Ebott once, and he sorta came back when one of the monsters got out of the barrier somehow and brought the kid back dead. Even trespassed on the town flower garden and everybody knows not to mess with those flowers."

Was there something wrong with the flowers or were they just considered that precious? It chilled Toriel; maybe she'd made a mistake? "What kind of flowers do you mean?"

"Same ones that I fell on, the ones that look like they're made of gold," she said. "We call 'em Sun Morpheus flowers. Only, they don't get so damn big in town, something about being down here must've mutated them or something. They don't grow in a lot of places, but they're prized by wizards and alchemists. Handle them right and they can expand the mind and spirit. But handle them wrong and you get a hell of a bad trip if you eat them. They've been known to completely fracture a person's mind and soul, but if you need to be doing some serious magic, they help immensely."

Chara couldn't have known about that when he asked to see them, Toriel thought. Although it still made her uncomfortable to hear what humans prized and feared those flowers for. It seemed ominous.

If this Chara noticed that she was unhappy with this subject, she ignored it. "But anyhow, people spotted the escaped monster and just about got the dead kid back when he also disappeared up the mountain with the corpse. They've been paranoid about the barrier and anybody going up the mountain ever since, plus the old folk still thought it was a bad omen to be named what I was." She shrugged. "People still get lost up on the mountain above. I bet they ended up here like I did, chasing some phantom white rabbit goat thing. I dunno, it was calling me and I didn't get a clear sight of it."

It took all of Toriel's willpower not to break down on this. What was Asriel doing luring other children down here when they all ended up dead? Or... what was Asriel's soul doing still hanging on at all? That shouldn't be possible. Unless, it was those flowers.

 _Crack_

It was far too quiet. Usually there were croaks from the Froggits, chatter from garden Loox and Vegetoids, and hums from the wings of Wimsuns. But the ruins were silent. Cold too. There was a familiar feeling in Toriel's heart. She remembered hearing her Chara say that he hated humans when asked why he had gone on Mount Ebott. There had been a cold detached hatred emanating from him. However, she and Asgore had talked abut it, decided that perhaps his situation had been bad and some loving care would dull the hatred down until it was gone. So they'd gotten used to it as a feeling in the background while trying to help.

Perhaps they'd been mistaken and this particular hatred was something this female Chara shared with him?

Then there was a sound: Chara whistling. "Hey old lady," she said, smiling and not bothered at all by the unease affecting Toriel. "I've been poking around and there should be more monsters about, I'd think. Did they all leave the Ruins? And how do you get out of here? I got stuff to do."

But she was a child, Toriel thought. It was strangely quiet here but Chara was a child and couldn't have the intent... _**CRACK**_ she did have the intent, a powerful hatred that she kept sheathed like the long blade hidden in her pocket tool. Intent enough to kill even her in one brutal blow. That was why the Ruins would now be silent.

"If you really want to know about your sons," Chara said cruelly by her ear, strangely delighted in her pain, "Well, I think _you're about to be **disappointed**_."

There was an echo in her voice, an echo of her namesake.

Never end never end never end

* * *

CONTINUE GAME THREE

Once little Frisk got over the scare of the fall into the underground and an encounter with a cruel flower monster, she turned out to be an animated energetic girl. She skipped along Toriel's side, holding her hand and talking freely. Like they'd known each other a long time already.

"I never seen flowers that big before!" Frisk said, noticing a bit of yellow pollen still on her striped shirt and trying to dust it off. It made her sneeze.

"Bless you," Toriel said, smiling at her antics. "They are quite a wonder, aren't they? I brought the seeds here, but didn't expect them to grow so big either." Perhaps it had something to do with her children.

"They got flowers like that back home," Frisk said. "At least the smaller ones. There's a whole big garden full of them in the middle of town! Gran says they're important, but I have to wait until I'm older to find out why. You can't even go in the garden without permission."

Maybe they were sacred to the town. "I keep those flowers because they're special to me," she said. "I don't mind if you want to play around them, my child, but I'll need to come out with you because of all the puzzles blocking the way."

 _crack_ "Mom's a really important person and has to work far away, but she talks to me and Dad on Skye every Saturday, and she sends lots of virtual hugs in emails." _crack_ "Dad wants to work at a zoo but he hasn't got the training and so he tells me to be good to animals always." _crack_ "Gran's really great! She teaches me how to cook and sew, and we go on long walks in the woods to find neat things." _crack_ "I've got a dog! Well, it's Mom's dog, but we were born on the same day and things got mixed up so I got named Frisk and our dog got named Frisco, but that makes us like twins, yeah?"

 _crack_

"But, but I gotta go home." Frisk looked and sounded sad.

Yet, she was a small innocent. Six humans had gone before her and as the seventh, the other monsters who believed in this insane plan to break the barrier would be desperate to put the plan into action after so long had passed since the sixth had left the Ruins. "It's too dangerous," Toriel said, standing before the exit to the Ruins. "You'll be safer here."

"I gotta help Gran take care of the house, and go to school... and Mom's gonna come home too!" She sniffed and rubbed her nose. "Sorry Ms. Tori, um, you're nice but I have to go back home."

It hurt. Frisk obviously loved her family and wanted to go back home badly. But, there was no good way she could get home. The pit she'd fallen down was too high, even with the golden flowers growing so tall there. She would die if she went through this door. On the off chance that she did manage to get all the way to the castle on her own, she'd have to do something terrible to have a chance at leaving the underground.

But how to explain to a child that she would have to kill someone to return home?

No, she had to stay here. Toriel didn't like the idea that came to her, but scaring her off _**crack**_ H-how? She hadn't even tried, she hadn't wanted to do this. How did she _crack_

LOAD SAVE THREE

Something wasn't right. Toriel wasn't sure what. Perhaps... perhaps it was just this foreboding feeling that she'd lose this child too. She spoke so happily of her family; she'd want to go home. But then, she also spoke of cooking. "Frisk, would you like to help make dinner?" she asked.

No answer.

"Frisk?" She looked down and the little girl looked paler than she had before. Her brown eyes were wide, fearful. Turning around fully and kneeling by her, Toriel touched her shoulder. "Frisk, what's the matter?"

Frisk burst into tears and hugged her.

 _Why? She just killed you. Kill her back! You've found the power, jus **t kill her all you want**!_

 _Kill or be killed._

Never end never end never end

* * *

Frisk was still cheerful, wanting to explore around the Ruins with her. But Toriel noticed sadness and loneliness in her too. She saw things in wonder, laughed while running around piles of red leaves. She was homesick, sometimes asking to go to the golden flowers and just looking up at the distant speck of sky there. More and more, Toriel felt like she was wrong to want to keep Frisk with her. She had a home too, a family that was worried sick about her. But there was no way back up the pit; the flowers never grew that tall. Perhaps she ought to trust in a friend from Snowdin.

After making sure she was okay with it, Toriel brought Frisk down to the caverns where the spiders lived. They were at their bake sale idea still. Sometimes she bought their treats, although she couldn't understand them enough to ask why they did this. This time, they seemed to be expanding out in hopes that they'd sell more. There were some good ideas, like (non-sticky) spider silk ribbons that several monsters in the Ruins would love. Others were more questionable, like powdered insect spice (although the Froggits might like that) and lint cleaners made of the sticky spider silk.

There was also something that caught Frisk's eye: a pretty doll of a spider girl wearing a tea dress. It had just the right softness and size to be perfectly huggable to her. On the other hand, it'd be too big for a Whimsun and too awkward for a Moldsmal or others without arms. Maybe a Migosp could appreciate it. "I've never seen such a pretty spider," she said. "Spiders are nice, though. They eat bad bugs like mosquitoes, so Dad said to be nice to spiders and put them outside."

"That's a good idea," Toriel said. She was a kind girl, so if the monsters out there still treasured compassion... "Would you like me to get it for you?"

"Are you sure?" she asked. As it was priced cheap for a doll, Toriel nodded. Frisk smiled and hugged the doll to her chest. "Thank you Tori."

After paying the spiders, Toriel brought Frisk back towards home. "There is something I'd like to talk to you about," she said. "Frisk, well," she didn't want to. But it wasn't right to keep her. "Do you want to go home?"

Frisk's eyes widened. "Um, yes," she said. "I'm supposed to be home when Mom gets back home, and they're probably all worried about me. Not that I don't like you, um, you're very nice and kind, like my Gran. And, I don't want to fight anybody. I know you said it's dangerous past the Ruins. But, I've go to go home, no matter how scary it is to get there."

There was something in her that reminded Toriel of things long long ago. The girl had determination. Surely there was some way to deal with the barrier that didn't require the sacrifice of anyone. "Yes, you've got to get back home to the people you love," she said. "It will be scary out there. But, in this time you've been with me, I see something in you. Compassion, cheerfulness, kindness, courtesy... determination. Listen. Monsters are not like humans, but there is good in everyone. If you treat the monsters past the ruins as you've treated me, I have a feeling you can win them over. But if you go, I will no longer be able to watch over you."

 _crack_

At the barrier, Toriel gave Frisk one last hug. "Be brave, my child," she said. "I hope you make it home safe and sound."

"I'll miss you lots," Frisk said, hanging on for a bit. "But I'll call, I promise. I hope I can call you even when I get back home."

never end never end never end

* * *

 _crack M_ om _crack_ Mom _crack_ Mom? _Crack_ Mom, look what we did with macaroni! _Crack_

 _crack_ Mom! _Crack_ I cried _crack_ Mom, please _crack_ Why, Mom, why? Please, Mom, it's me _crack_

 _ **CRACK**_

Why can't I kill you, Mom? I don't even feel the same, it shouldn't matter. Why are you ignoring me?! I'm just some freak flower am I?

I'm just some freak flower...

Why can't I love you, Mom?

 **I hate you Mom.**

But I can't kill you.

 _Crack_

never end never end never end


	3. How to Punch like a Maniac or Have Mercy

**Chapter 3: How To Punch Like a Maniac or Have Mercy**

It was pitiful. The royal guard seemed to be made up of dogs. Sure, some of them wore menacing metal armor, but they were stupid dogs. But that was okay. Chara had killed dogs before. It was fun. Especially now that some of them talked and tried to act like people. It was ridiculous. There was even a sickeningly sweet pair that claimed to be married. Oh yes, it had been **so fun** to see that one go into total shock smelling the dust of his wife, then to see the fear overtake him as he realized that Chara wasn't going to stop.

Just as in the Ruins, she was growing stronger and tougher the more she killed. By the time she got back home, she should be more than powerful enough to take out all the annoying pests and cruel idiots there. It would help to get a better weapon, she thought. Perhaps a more usable knife. Then she could see about getting more monsters taken down. She was having to chase after them now. That was fun too, being a predator in the snowy woods, weaving and winding through the evergreens like an all-powerful shadow. None of them could stand up to her. Not even those two skeletons as they kept running from her. Their so-called defensive strategy was just childish puzzles. She did feel a bit worried about the squat one, somehow **knowing** that he was being deadly serious in that threat earlier.

But the tall pompous one now... whenever she got him to stand and face her, he'd be a pushover.

Never end never end never end

* * *

From the moment the child gave a toothy smile at the whoopie handshake, Sans knew he'd like her. She had a sadness to her. Then again, Frisk also looked at him fearlessly. She was different from the other humans before her.

"Toriel said you could help me get home," Frisk told him once Papyrus had run off.

"Did she now? Don't know anybody by that name." Although the fact that the child had walked right out of the Ruins meant that she had to be involved. But was it truly Toriel in there?

Keeping her spider doll close, she nodded. "The nice goat lady in the Ruins, she helped me after I fell down here. But I have to go home cause my family's waiting. Tori said that she had a friend out here that she wasn't sure what his name was, but he tells jokes and has a goofy brother. That sounds like you."

Sans chuckled. "Lots of people tell jokes and lots of people have goofy brothers. But I think I know the lady you mean. Well, I should be capturing you cause that's my job. You seem all right by me so far, especially if she likes you." To help this child, he should have Papyrus' help. Not that that should be hard. There should be a simple way to both test the child and convince Papyrus. "Now that I think about it, there is a favor you could do for me. Do that and I'll see about doing something. Dunno what, I'm a lazy sorta guy."

"What do you want me to do?" Frisk asked.

He tapped a fingerbone to his teeth. "As I said, I don't care if you're human or not. But my brother, he's a human-hunting fanatic. Thing is, he's never seen a human before and he's a good person at heart. Do you think you can play along with him? Get friendly enough with him and we'll both help you out."

It didn't take long for the child to nod. "Okay."

never end never end never end

* * *

On one hand, Frisk felt homesick. As she trudged through the snow, she thought of things she'd be doing back in Ebott Town during winter: making snowmen with her friends, walking with Frisco and Gran through the snowy woods (she always thought the ice made it seem like an enchanted place), using an old broom to sweep away snow while her Dad shoveled most of it aside, hoping Mom would be home for Christmas. Her family had to be afraid that they'd never see her again. Why did she come up Mount Ebott anyhow? It was a hazy evening. She thought she'd been following a ghost that had called her, a ghost that looked an awful lot like Tori. But the one time she'd mentioned it, Tori had gotten sad so Frisk hadn't asked further about it.

On the other hand, this place was a winter wonderland like no other. She came across a three-eyed snowman sitting by a riverbank that had lost a stick arm. When Frisk picked up the stick and stuck it back in its body, the snowman said, "Thanks for that."

"You're welcome, snowman," Frisk said, smiling. This really was an adventure.

"That's a nice backpack you've got there," the snowman said. "Um, could I ask a favor of you? I mean, I can't really do much; I'm a snowman that's always sat here ever since I was made. But even so, I want to see the world. Or, at least more of the underground. Could you please take my top eye and clip it to your backpack? That way I could join you on your trek, at least in spirit."

It wouldn't be a hard thing, so she nodded. "Okay, that sounds fun." She didn't want to hurt a talking snowman, so she carefully pulled the top eye out. It was different from the two coals that made up its others eyes. Instead, it was made of a blue tiger eye stone on a clip. At least, that's what Frisk thought it was called. She got it clipped to her backpack, then took a bit of snow to fill in the gap left behind.

"Aw, thanks, you're a sweetheart," the snowman said. "Hey, um, I do know a bit that could help you on your way to Snowdin. There's a group of royal guardsmen and a pair of skeletons who keep watch on this road in case humans come. The guardsmen, well, they're all friendly dogs even though they try to be gruff for their work. If you play with them a bit or ask them for permission to pet them, I'm sure they'll warm up to you fast. I don't know what advice to give you on the skeletons, but they're good people too."

"I kinda know the skeletons," she said. "And I love dogs! So this should be easy."

"Great! I hope we make it far!"

never end never end never end

* * *

"I want to be friends with you."

This was not how things were supposed to go. It had all been so clear in his mind! A big dangerous human would come from the ruins and become so impressed with with his suave style that Papyrus could capture them to send on to the royal capitol. Then he'd finally get accepted into the royal guard and everyone would adore him, and he'd use his fame to commission a great artist to make his amazing self-portrait snowman into something a wee bit more solid so that it stood the test of time (rather than repeatedly getting kicked over by mischievous kids). That was how the story should go.

But no, the human who came from the Ruins was a little one, not any bigger than Kid in Snowdin. She was cute, probably harmless, and was standing here unafraid with a smile, asking to be his friend. She even looked extra innocent clinging to that pretty spider girl doll she had.

"Well I'm sorry about that," he said, crossing his bony arms over his ribcage. "I know I must seem a striking figure to you but I, the Great Papyrus, have been ordered to capture any humans I find and ship them off to the capitol."

"What for?" she asked.

He paused, having to think about that. "Well, erm, I'm not entirely clear on that, to be honest. But that's the king's orders."

 _crack_

Under the assault of his mighty magic... the human cried fearfully, her soul getting battered badly when she panicked.

Papyrus stopped the attack immediately. "Whoa, whoa, sorry there little human. I didn't mean to scare you."

"I don't want to fight," she said. "Please, I've got to get home to my family. Can't we just be friends?"

"Well..." geez, what now? How did she even get this far without knowing how to battle? That didn't make things fair. And, if she wanted to get home by crossing the underworld, she had to know how even if she went for peaceful resolutions. Wait... that was it! "Well I can see how you would be so taken by such a cool puzzlemaster such as myself," Papyrus said. "And, you seem like a good sort. But there's a lot of people out there who will want to battle you because that's what they know. They might not be so forgiving as myself."

"I don't want to fight," she repeated. This was calming her down even if she was still hurt. But at the same time, determination and mercy shone through her soul. It wasn't very well honed, but this could work!

"You can't avoid all battles," Papyrus said. "However! There is a way to see them through to a peaceful resolve without harming your opponent. You'll even make them adore you if you do things right! And I see a great shining light of potential in you, human. Know what? I'll train you in battles so that if you end up in trouble, you know how to handle yourself and solve things without violence. Once you're truly up to the challenge, then we shall battle again to see if I capture you or let you go on by yourself. How does that sound?"

 _Kill or be killed, kid._

She nodded. "Good, thank you Mister Papyrus."

Hearing that made him blush. "Aw shucks, you don't have to be formal. You may call me Uncle Papyrus if you like. And, what should I be calling you other than little human?"

"My name is Frisk." She offered a hand and they shook on the agreement.

Never end never end never end

* * *

Great walls of flames ruled Snowdin. Their present tree was already black, dropping ash instead of needles. All over town, the flames were holding rich colors, burning the dust of the residents. But some had gotten away. **Not acceptable.**

LOAD STATE FOUR

The survivors had gotten out through a path in the woods, so rearrange how the lines of the fire walls would be summoned in this way... no, there's a gap over there. Unless, what of putting the edges of the walls near trees? Those would go up in flames and trap the villagers. Once all the spell lines that he could handle were drawn out, he caused them all to erupt into flames at once. It took all the energy he had to do it and he had to risk spending a moment within the newly burning town before he could burrow underground to safety.

This time, he got them all. **Good.** But, it wasn't enough. There was some satisfaction in seeing the plan work, but it wasn't the same as when he burned the library in rage. That had felt so **good** , but this, it was just another puzzle solved. They had died in pain and fear, but it didn't match what he felt. He needed more.

But where to go from here?

 **No, I know. It's what he would do.**

It just needs one more human soul here in the underworld.

Never end never end never end

* * *

This... it wasn't exactly what he'd had in mind. He'd thought that one day, a big threatening human would come in from the Ruins and, through wit and mercy, he'd be the one to capture them and bring them into the capitol as per the king's orders. And this... human? She seemed kind of normal at one glance, a bit taller than Sans but with a plainer build than Undyne. Not big, not exactly threatening. But sometimes, there was this flicker there. Her sharp eyes, her smug smile. And something that sent shivers into his soul like he was meeting something out of a nightmare. But her teeth weren't that sharp and she didn't have any tentacles or hand maces. Instead, she had some kind of pink gloves on her hands. Maybe she was hiding claws.

No, his nerves were getting to him. Shape up, Papyrus! Some people could be mean or infuriating, but all people were good at heart. Anyone could be dealt with non-violently. If he showed enough mercy, it would warm her heart and soften those eyes. If he...

 _ **CRACK**_

The punch alone might have broken a smaller bone or two even with her slender arms. But that murderous intent was cold cruelty shredding his soul to confetti. As things darkened rapidly, he saw that smile and those eyes, filled with a mad glee at ending his life. She was a nightmare and the last thing he'd ever see.

Never end never end never end

* * *

"Face to face, soul vs soul, dream vs dream! Look your opponent in the eyes and stand your grounds! That's how battles start."

Sans was pretty sure that this was illegal. But it was so awesome that he wasn't about to stop it. Besides, now that Papyrus had the idea, it'd take too much work to stop them. Nobody in Snowdin seemed to have a clue that there was a human in their midst, so why bother worrying them? They were enjoying the show.

In front of Grillby's, Papyrus stood wearing his graduation cap and gown (he'd insisted on it for the scholarly teacher look). Facing him, Frisk had set her backpack aside but kept the spider doll. She hadn't wanted to take anything remotely like a weapon, not even a stick, so the doll was going to be her 'weapon' for this exercise. Given what he'd seen, Sans thought it suited her. The kids who lived in Snowdin had noticed them and, on hearing that it was a lesson on battles, decided to come. The parents of the kids and other adults were gathering around too.

"Now magic may be a bit beyond you at the moment, and, well," Papyrus rubbed the side of his skull for a moment, "And kind of beyond me to be teaching. But I can train you in the basics and get you started! At least on the technique of mercy and avoiding magic, I think you'll be really good at it once someone shows you how to use it. You have to be aware of your soul since all magic attacks the soul. Now, uh, you are aware of your soul, aren't you Frisk?"

"Um, I dunno," the girl said.

It worked differently for humans, although Sans knew about that through studies. But if he gave too much away, he'd look more competent that they knew him to be. "You know your heartbeat, since you have a heart," Sans said. "Maybe you could see your soul like that? But maybe he should explain about why a battle is dream vs dream."

"Oh yes yes, got to know your battlefield!" Papyrus declared. "Few monsters fight fist to fist, it's far too unrefined and savage. You've got to imagine! So, fights are a bit like dreams, but more substantial because most people don't get hurt messing up in their actual dreams. Your soul is the core of your being; a heartbeat works as a good place to start if you've got one. Magic works by the caster imaging the form and sending it towards target. You avoid magic by making sure none of the forms in the spell touch your soul, by imaging that it does not.

"However! Your opponent is dreaming too in casting so that they are moving the forms to strike your soul. You're dreaming to move to not get hurt. The one with the greater willpower wins! Although, there's some folks who can use creativity or other traits of the soul to use as their strongest trait to improve their power to dream. So let's practice! Let me, hmm," he cast a spell that made a blue orb appear to the left of Frisk; it was not visible to the eyes. Several of the adults moved away to get out of reach. "Can you sense that?"

"I think so," Frisk said, her eyes partly closing. The orb pulsed red now that she contacted it. That made things easier on both of them.

"Nyeh heh heh, looks like you've got it!" Papyrus said proudly. "Okay now, I'm going to send a few bones at the orb. See if you can shift the orb or the bones so that they don't touch.'

 _crack_

The girl was a natural, and Papyrus wasn't half bad as a teacher. A lot of students had trouble learning to manipulate the battlefield so they didn't get hit. Once Frisk grasped the method to move magic, she was good at moving the orb about to avoid attacks. She tried a few times to affect the bones that Papyrus' magic used, but even with him holding back, that was the much harder technique to master.

"Nyah hah, you're pretty good at dodging!" Papyrus said, happy with his student. "Okay, that should do you, so we'll move on to Mercy. Now, there are actually three parts, all related to the greatest traits of a monster's soul! Hope! Joy! And Love! That is how you win a battle without needing any violence at all, no matter how many magical obstacles your opponent makes you dodge.

"First, hope! Get to know your opponent by talking and listening to them. Take a good look at them and figure out what they might like." Papyrus then pointed down to her. "Like you... you wear a striped shirt, so I might compliment your fashion. And you carry a spider doll, so you must like spiders and dolls, so I might start by asking what you like about spiders or dolls."

"Isn't that a part of joy?" Sans pointed out.

"Yes, I'm getting to it!" Papyrus said, briefly making a fist. "Now once you've got a good idea of what they're like, you move to the second step, joy! Make them happy with you. Sometimes just a compliment or agreeing you like something is enough to do this. Sometimes you need to do something more, like dance or sing, to fulfill their joy. Once they are happy and can be spared, you'll notice a sparkling shine around their soul.

"At that point, you give them love through Mercy! Mercy is like a spell, but instead of trying to hurt an opponent's soul, you're trying to make them feel all warm, fuzzy, and gooey inside. When you can spare someone, their magical attacks usually slow down. At that point, think of all the things that make you feel happy and loved. Like your family, or your favorite foods, or your favorite TV shows, or whatever gives you the right warm fuzzies! And then," he opened his hands up and acted like he was offering her something, "you share those warm fuzzies with your opponent by sending them just like you moved the orb there. That ends the battle and you both feel wonderful for solving things in that manner! Got it?"

 _That sounds so familiar. But mercy was boring._

"I think so," Frisk said.

"You might want to mention that Mercy doesn't work if your opponent keeps their heart closed to you," Sans said.

Papyrus nodded, then had to catch his cap so it didn't slide off. "Right, that's true. That's why in most cases, you wait until their heart shines. Although, there are cases where it actually helps to show Mercy before the shine comes. A stubborn few can keep their heart closed and focus solely on trying to beat you. But the warm fuzzies of Mercy are hard to resist and it is possible to wear down a person's emotional defenses with constant Mercy. That takes a lot of effort and energy, though, so it's best to try hope and joy first by showing you care."

 _Huh, I didn't think that was possible. I doubt it'd work._

After rubbing his chin, Papyrus snapped his fingerbones. "Ah-hah! Now I said I'd challenge you again, but you really need to practice and train these skills. So any of you kids over here willing to be a practice opponent against Frisk? She's got a big mission to go on to return home."

"Yo, me, I'll battle her!" A dinosaur kid, also in a striped shirt, bounced in place. He then bounced over, but skidded on a hidden patch of ice. While he slipped and spun around at that, the ice managed to put him in a good spot to battle Frisk. The kid shook his head, then beamed with excitement. "I learned to battle a week ago, but I'm gonna practice lots so I get to be as great as Undyne!"

"Nyeh heh, that's a wonderful goal, Kid," Papyrus said happily. "Okay, the first match is the wandering Frisk against the enthusiastic Kid! Are our young fighters ready?" Once both kids nodded, Papyrus raised a hand. "Alrighty, then on the count of three… two… one… go!"

Kid started off with an attack that was like feet pounding the ground. Since he was inexperienced and small, the feet his magic produced were small and didn't even make shockwaves. Frisk was tense, but she didn't panic like she had against Papyrus earlier. "Who's Undyne?" she asked.

"Huh, you don't know about Undyne? She's the coolest monster around! She's head of the Royal Guard, and, and," Kid was getting excited to explain about his heroine, unconsciously turning his attacks into sloppily made and thrown spears. At the sides, several of the adults had to get up screens to not get hit. "She's really really strong and nobody can defeat her! She hunts down bad guys and makes them pay for their crimes so that everybody is safe. That makes her the greatest hero alive, maybe ever!"

This was interesting, Sans thought. Spear attacks weren't typical for dinosaur monsters and a novice like Kid shouldn't be able to formulate attacks outside their natural ones. Perhaps in his admiration of Undyne, he'd managed it anyhow. Kid had a lot of potential. Then again, so did the other kid in this match. "She sounds cool," Frisk said with a smile. "I'd like to meet her."

"You have no idea what you're asking for there," Sans said softly. It was going to be hard to protect Frisk from Undyne since the latter was so passionate about her duty. But to get to the capitol, Frisk had to go through Waterfall where Undyne was.

"Yeah, me too!" Kid said, bouncing in place. His heart was sparkling now.

Frisk's Mercy hit like a truck. Although not in the usual way of that expression. It was more like her Mercy hit like a semitruck getting knocked over and spilling out all kinds of warm fuzzies and your favorite things right in front of you. Even the bystanders could feel tides of happiness and cheer coming to them. Maybe that was because she was doing this for the first time and wasn't directing it well. It was enough to give even him hope that maybe she could do something without violence to break the barrier.

The whole town of Snowdin had gathered by now to watch this battle between novices. Not knowing what he did, they cheered for both Kid and Frisk's efforts.

 _Crack_

"Sans! You fight her now."

"I duinno about that," he said.

"Aw come on, don't be a lazy bones about education!" Papyrus insisted. "A lesson has got to have a test! And since you don't actually train, you'd be the least risk for an actual challenge, outside of me of course."

What you don't know…

never end never end never end

* * *

It was all very fractured now.

 _Crack_

Her eyes were burning with such rage and hate that if his heart hadn't been closed off, it would have been deadly if she just poked him. "I will get past you," she growled, gripping a sharp knife in her hand.

I can play outside the rules and that's the only chance we've got of stopping this nightmare.

 _Crack_

"Here, the entire underground burned. No one could escape the smoke and the flames. Same thing here, and here, and all these were more explodey but fires there too, it's just differences in the patterns and origins. And there, monsters were hunted and cut down, the magical power in their breaking souls stolen by their murderer. That happens here, here, all these… and those are where the core explodes and floods everything with extremely magically active magma, even out into the human world… and these, all that can be sensed is knives and blood."

"Everything ends violently?"

"Everything, every time."

"By who?"

"That's harder to pin down. The anomaly is a girl-boy, a strange talking flower, or the eighth human to fall into the underground, the seventh soul that was supposed to break the barrier."

"Instead, they broke us."

 _crack_

"Even after studying this book they threw down, I can't say for sure what the Sun Morpheus plants will do for us. But the humans use it to enhance magical powers and induce visions. It gives the process for making sure that the Sun Morpheus doesn't turn against its user. But again, that's for humans and we don't know what this will do to us. But this anomaly has got to be stopped or there is no hope for this world in any of its timelines."

Any time I said no that we could find, it all ended violently.

"I'll take the chance."

 _crack_

Any time I said yes that I can sense because of the Sun Morpheus, I saw all the timelines and it fractured my mind, burdening my soul with something no one else can understand. It will all end violently.

 _Crack_

 _You too, huh?_

 _Crack_

She's the whole reason I took this risk. I've got to stop her. The Eighth Human to fall, also a child but truly a demon.

I can break the rules.

But, she's learning every time she reloads.

I still have to fight.

Is there any hope?

 _Crack_

 **never end never end never end**

* * *

Frisk's Mercy hit like a truck being on the sidelines. Being in a position to face it head on?

She was more confident now that she knew what was going on. Her brown eyes were bright and clear, having fun and not about to hurt a fly. Or a spider. Or someone who might be trying to hurt her. It was the same kind of innocence that Papyrus had. But there was that force in her heart, that determination. She was going to get home.

Of course, he was going to play by the rules against her. Of course, he was going to hold back on the skills he could use. Thing was, he had been planning to use that false sparkle so that she 'won'. It seemed like the best way. Things were too fractured for him to lower his heart's defenses anymore.

Her Mercy surrounded him with warmth, wonder, and a feeling like home. It was painful, but by way of trying to heal the heart's wounds and accidentally calling attention to them. "You're a bit early on that," he said, trying to hide how it affected him. Hope trying to ignite, face the scars instead of looking away, remember… remember what true joy was.

"I just wanted to see," Frisk said. "So um, what are we having for dinner after this?"

Asserting that they would be friends, interesting tactic. "I dunno," Sans said.

"I could cook for us!" Papyrus said, which was worrisome.

"I like hot dogs," Sans said even if it disappointed his brother a bit. As much as he wanted to encourage his brother to keep trying, he didn't want to subject Frisk to his cooking when she was probably getting hungry after all this practice. "Lots of great condiments to choose from with them. How about you, kid?" Curious, he sent a moderately difficult bone pattern after her.

She deftly dodged around them while keeping in the conversation. "Yeah, me too! Especially when you cook them into pigs in a blanket."

"What's that?" Sans asked, curious.

"It's got cut up hot dogs and cheese wrapped up in dough and baked," Frisk said. "I help my Gran make them because she says I'm too young for knives and using the oven. But if you've got the ingredients and do what I can't, I can show you."

"Wowie, that sounds fun!' Papyrus said, eagerly clapping his hands together. "I'd love to learn a new recipe!"

Frisk smiled happily at his offer, making Sans feel touched by such a simple offer making them all happy. Right, they were all happy and that was enough to melt his heart. It wasn't false this time. She was quick to take advantage of this and offered him soothing Mercy once again.

He hadn't thought it could happen, but it was happening, through a child. You can be forgiven, you can have hope. The anomaly didn't represent the true heart of the world, this little girl did. For this hope to work itself out, she had to get home.

 _Crack_

"You've got to have high heat, right?" Papyrus asked, turning on the oven. "Because you have to cook with passion!"

"No, you'll just burn everything up that way," Frisk said, standing on a stepstool so she could work on the counter to put the pigs in a blanket together. Sans was working by her to cut up the hot dogs and cheese. "You've got to follow the instructions on the package first, and once you've got that down, you can try other things. That's what my Gran says."

"Your Gran seems like a wise woman," Sans said.

The child nodded. "Uh-huh, she teaches me a lot."

 _crack_

Fortunately, Papyrus kept the guest room clean and welcoming so Frisk was able to sleep over in their home. Before she did, she made a call on the old cell phone she had. She came over after a few minutes and handed him the phone. "Here, Tori wants to talk to you."

"Does she really?" Sans asked, taking the phone. Just to be sure, he started off with, "Knock knock."

A familiar soft chuckle came to him. "Who's there?"

"Doctor."

'Doctor Who?"

"I love that show!" He chuckled as she laughed along. So it was her.

 _Crack_

Sans turned the light off and quietly shut the guest room door. "She's out like a light now," he said.

"She's had a long day," Toriel said over the phone. "But she's got longer to go."

"Don't worry, Papyrus and I showed her how to handle a battle peacefully. Although, did you try to battle her?"

She seemed sad as she said, "No, I didn't even think to show her. Well no, I thought about it, giving her a test of character if she insisted on leaving. But, I just had this feeling it would end up really bad. One time, she burst into tears all of a sudden and the only thing she said about it was that she didn't want to fight. Yet she was so homesick that I had to let her try."

Did the girl have the power of SAVE? She certainly had the determination to support it. "I think she'll be fine, but I haven't forgotten that promise. I'll keep an eyesocket out for her.

"Thank you Sans. But, even if she knows how to handle things peacefully, she still has to deal with Asgore and the only way out of the barrier is through the power of a monster and human soul together like..." she probably couldn't say it.

And now that he knew his friend behind the door was the former queen, Sans knew why. "She'll find a way," he said, taking a quick look around the first floor of his home. Papyrus had left to do something, so he wasn't here right now.

"Sometimes I feel like I could believe that, but I've been worried ever since she left..."

"It'll be fine," he said again. "Hey, could I confide something in you?"

"What is it Sans?" she asked, her voice turning gentle as she heard the shift in his words. "I'll keep it a secret."

He leaned against the wall near the TV, where he could see the windows where Papyrus might come in from. "I got messed up badly in a magical experiment a while ago, involving time manipulation and a concoction made with Sun Morpheus flowers. I saw things that… well, I haven't been able to feel much in the way of hope ever since. But I went into battle with Frisk as part of teaching her today and when she went to offer me Mercy to end the battle, well, I haven't felt like this in a long time. It's not just hope; I know deep inside that if anybody can solve the barrier problem without sacrifice, it's going to be Frisk."

 _I wouldn't put that much faith in this. It **can't** be resolved nicely. Yet, I also feel something, watching her. Is this hope? Is it really? It's reassuring like nothing else… but it can't be real. It doesn't follow the true heart of the world. Brother, if only you were awake in this time as well._

never end never end never end


	4. Flower Child, Bloodthirsty Child

**Chapter 4: Flower Child, Bloodthirsty Child**

His job was to catch a human for the king. As Papyrus watched Frisk move on towards Waterfall with great resolution, he felt strangely satisfied for losing. No, no, he didn't lose like that! They had reached a compromise to become friends instead of enemies. He released a wild card into the underground, so anything could happen! And with her heart, she was sure to win over many monsters and make more friends. Eventually, she'd make it to the king and recommend that he be part of the Royal Guard since he'd helped her so much. This was going to be the best thing ever!

"Hey, since she has to go through Waterfall, she's going through Undyne's territory," Sans said.

"Well there isn't any other way to get to the capitol," Papyrus pointed out.

"Undyne doesn't give up easily. Frisk could be in for a hard time trying to make friends with her."

That hadn't occurred to him. "Ah, yes… that could be. But she's reasonable, I'm sure it'll work out." His phone rang, so he got it from his pocket. It was Undyne. "Hello Undyne! We were just talking about you."

"Whatever," she said. "Do you have an updated report on that human in Snowdin?"

"Yes m'am! She headed into Waterfall right now." He heard a sigh from Sans, but ignored it.

"WHAT?!" It hurt all of his ear bones being yelled at through his skull like that. "Papyrus! You were supposed to capture the human, not let her go through! Did you even fight her?"

"Of course I did," Papyrus said. "I fought her as best I could, even trained her so she could do it." This time, Undyne sighed. "Look, she's really great, just take some time to talk to her and you'll realize..."

"We've got to kill her for the king's plan to work," Undyne angrily said to Papyrus's shock.

"I, I thought we were just capturing the humans?" he said, his voice trembling.

"She's invaded and is probably an agent sent to destroy us from within the barrier. She's got to be stopped so that we can go free. Bah, I'm going after her myself." There was a click of finality over the phone.

"But, it's Frisk," Papyrus said, really worried now. "Oh no, we've got to do something to convince Undyne to leave her be Sans?" He glanced around but his brother wasn't there anymore. "Pah, what a time for you to be slacking off," Papyrus grumbled. "There's got to be something I can do."

Never end never end never end

* * *

 **Why does no one have a decent knife?** Chara sighed.

"Beats me," Chara answered, brushing dust off her shirt. "And that dork called a notebook a weapon."

 _Chara?_

This place was even more stupid than the snowy village with Christmas decorations. They put sparkling stones in the walls and called them stars to wish upon. Ror lighting, they used glowing crystals and mushrooms. That made it harder to find the monsters. On the other hand, it made things fun when they could sneak up on a small trembling group. They could somehow feel their intent, making them deliciously scared. Then she would strike and they'd be dust.

"Yo! Do you know where everybody went?" A little yellow dinosaur hopped into the room, coming right up to them.

"Not exactly," Chara said. If they did know, they'd hunt them down for hiding like the cowards they were. An interesting death would have to be come up with.

Oblivious to any potential danger, the dino kid stopped by them. "Huh, weird. Usually there's there's lots of monsters walking around here, and you can find Temmies too."

 **Ugh, Temmies. They're disgustingly cuckoo.**

 _Don't hurt the Temmies._

"Who was that?" Chara murmured, glancing around although it seemed like a voice in her head, just like the hitchhiking spirit of Chara.

 **Just my silly little brother. He's a coward too, but it's fun to make him watch this. There's something about this dumb dino kid that reminds me of him.**

"I came here looking for Undyne!" the dino kid said. "Are you here to see her too? Come on, I know all the paths through Waterfall! We'll find her."

Chara didn't want a wimp along as a liability. **But trust me, it's fun to make them think you're their only friend in the world and then show them what power you have.** True, that could be interesting. "Sure kid, which path gets us out of here?"

Never end never end never end

* * *

Frisk stopped to take the snowman's eye off her bag. "Can you see this?" she asked, turning around slowly with the eye in her hands. "It's so pretty."

Walking down this path was like walking under the full moon. It had the darkness of night, but an ethereal blue glow that made it easy to see. The path was clearly marked with plenty of signs saying which path went where; she followed signs to reach the capitol where the barrier was. Overhead, it was like a sky full of stars. According to a sign, they were magical crystals that had been left in place to remind monsters of the world above.

There were also amazing pale blue flowers lining the path, with blossoms bigger than her head. In turning about for the snowman, she accidentally brushed against one, causing it to speak. "Can you see this?" it repeated in her voice. "It's so pretty."

Frisk smiled wide at that. The underworld was so amazing. Although according to the signs, the monsters wanted to return to the surface world. It was strange seeing these stories of the other side of the world, ones that saw humans as bad as some humans saw monsters. There was no mention of the tower of bones guy. Why couldn't people get along? She'd have to talk with her Mom and Dad about that when she got home. She did have phone numbers for Toriel and Papyrus, so they could all talk and start working things out.

Never end never end never end

* * *

"Can you see this?" the echo flower said in a voice like a little girl. "It's so pretty."

Little girl? No, it had to be some trick. She'd dealt with a human before once, over in Snowdin. It had been a teenaged boy who spoke with his fists and had killed a dozen monsters around Snowdin and Waterfall. That had been a hero's battle, a tough one that had been a close call. But, a battle against a little girl? That wasn't heroic. It still had to be done. There'd be some trick.

She'd observe and find that trick.

She had to hurry before more monsters died.

Never end never end never end

* * *

Patter patter patter. Their feet made ripples in the thin sheet of water on the raised path. Patter patter patter. The pink umbrella over their heads kept them dry and made a pleasing noise with the raindrops. Patter patter patter. While it was lightly cool here, there was a smell of moisture, reeds, and flowers, kind of spring like. Patter patter patter.

"So what's this big mission you're on?" Kid asked Frisk.

A pretty blue stone swung below her backpack and the sweet spider doll was still under her arm. "It's not a mission, I just want to go home. But I have to go all the way to the capitol first."

He smiled to encourage his friend. "Well once you get into Hotland, you're almost there! I don't go that far without my parents, but they've got neat elevators there that will take you right to the capitol. Though if you've got time, you ought to see the magma flows! It's really cool, well not cool because it's hot enough to melt rocks far below. You know what I mean."

Frisk smiled. "Yeah. There's lots of amazing places in the underground. Once I get home and get permission, maybe I'll come back."

never end never end never end

* * *

This was what night was like on the surface, huh? It was dark, but it made things glow and sparkle like you wouldn't see in brighter areas of the underground. The ceiling really wasn't far away, as he didn't have to stretch his vines up far to touch it. But when he pulled back, looked up, and cleared his mind, it was like he was looking at something immensely far away. There had been a poem, the sky stretched to infinity. If the night sky was like this, he could believe it.

Something isn't right, I should be feeling something at this sight.

I should be feeling something.

Maybe an ancient memory of monsterkind, remembering the deep emptiness overhead that I only have to look into my self for?

People were approaching. He should try again. Moving aside so that he was in the presence of glowing mushrooms, he waited to see who would come. It was a pair of lesser monsters, one that had a water tank body to waddle along and a mop to clean the floor. Woshua. The other floated along, the brown head of a horse on a bronzed muscled body. Aaron.

SAVE STATE THREE

"Howdy!" Flowey called out.

"Howdy!" an echo flower near him said.

Aaron snickered. "Look at this, the flowers are talking to each other. Isn't that cute? ;)"

People liked cute. "Well it always agrees with me," he said, trying to sound sweet.

"KKKKKKYYYUUUUUUTTTTEEEEEEEEE!" And some white furred creature with black hair pounced out of the darkness to nearly squash Flowey into the floor. Aaron just laughed. The Temmie's face filled Flowey's sight. "Kyutie flowey!"

"Um, be careful," Woshua said. "That flower might make a mess if you squash it."

" **I will not be squashed**!" Flowey said, sending his vines up through the Temmie and turning her to dust. There was just a split second when her eyes were filled with fear on realizing his danger. When the other two monsters stared, he tore them apart too.

Stupid Temmie. He could have done this right.

LOAD STATE THREE

Now, sound cheerful, don't let them feel that I just murdered them. "Howdy!" Flowey said, bopping in place.

"Howdy!" the echo flower behind him said as well. "Howdy!"

As before, Aaron snickered. "Look at this, the flowers are talking to each other. Isn't it cute? ;)"

He couldn't see the Temmie, but knew she was nearby. "I was looking for someone more interesting to talk to, actually," Flowey said.

"I'm not much of a talker, see? ;)" The Aaron tensed his arm muscles and rapped the knuckles of his fists together.

"I've got messes to clean, sorry," the Woshua said, busily scrubbing at a patch of ground whose only sin was being slightly lighter than the rest around it.

Ignoring the Woshua for now, Flowey looked up at the horse man. "How… how do you do that winkie thing in your speech? It's not a sound, but I know you did it."

"It's magic," he teased, then added the winkie. Unfortunately, Flowey wasn't able to get the secret out of him before the Temmie spaz glomped him again.

LOAD STATE THREE

Nor here.

LOAD STATE THREE

Nor here.

LOAD STATE THREE

Finally, after trying about fifty different ways of handling the conversation, he got it. Flowey had to try it. "So, like this? ;)"

The Aaron grinned and flexed in encouragement. "You got it, cutie. ;)"

"KYYUUUUUU…!"

"NO!" Flowey cried, burrowing back in the ground and making the Temmie splat face first into the ground.

 **That was pretty funny, but it'd be funnier if she died doing that.**

He did a good thing in getting the Aaron friendly enough to teach him how to make a winkie sound, but why did he like it better that the Temmie got hurt?

Never end never end never end

* * *

"Your name is what?" Frisk asked, opening her eyes and seeing golden petals. Water rushed joyfully around her, but only gentle mist billowing in the air touched her. When she took a breath, the rich pollen tickled her nose and made her sneeze. Some of the flowers swayed, but she didn't see Flowey among them.

Then the voice of a boy not much older than her came from… somewhere. _Don't remember._

Frisk sat up, but there seemed to be no one near her. She even checked the flowers, but none of them spoke up. "Where are you then?"

 _With you. When you fell and breathed the pollen… I'm sorry, I don't know why I called you. I knew it had to be done, but I don't remember why. I, I was cold, lonely. Only a nightmare was with me and I don't remember the nightmare either._

For a brief moment, she thought she saw someone in the mist, a child that looked a lot like Tori. But he was gone once she blinked. And there was another strange thought in her mind, like someone gentle whispering to her. _Kindness awakens one, cruelty awakens the other. Don't be afraid, Frisk. Be kind to him._

"Well you can stay with me if it makes you feel better," Frisk said, getting to her feet and trying to dust as much of the yellow pollen off as she could.

Never end never end never end

* * *

 _Weird, there's somebody I can't directly find, but I remember._

"You make all this music yourself?" Frisk asked, impressed at this ghost's talent.

"Um..." Napstablook didn't seem very sure of himself in talking, but she could see sparkles of happiness that she was trying to hold a conversation with him. "Um. Not really. See, um, I'm a DJ. That stands for disc jockey. Err, I take a tune that somebody else made, like, um, here," he played a cheery song that was about evergreen trees, "then, um, I take these music programs to add bits or change them up. Like, um, this." He add some extra beats to the tune and a spooky echo to the vocals.

"That sounds like fun!" She jumped and spun around to dance, making the ghost barely laugh. But his heart sparkled greatly.

 _This is fun. I haven't danced in a long time._

"What other songs you got?" she asked, hoping for more to dance along to. Maybe even sing if she knew the words.

Never end never end never end

* * *

"We Tem Brigade!" one of the strange creatures declared. One beside it nodded so enthusiastically that its saucepan helmet fell off with a splat onto the marsh ground. "We beat stinky human to save village!"

"Are you kidding me?" Chara said, looking at the four floating creatures that had human-like hair, but cat parts, dog parts, and who-knows-what parts. They wore various bits of kitchenware (and a toilet brush weapon for one) as battle gear.

 **Nope, that's Temmies for you**.

"We dead serus," another Temmie said. "Cause murder is not cute! Go Tem Brigade go!" Three of them sent bizarre stretching paw magic after her while the fourth opted for something very unusual for monsters in simply hurling itself at her.

Cussing, Chara was only able to attack the one Temmie that was coming at her. But even as annoyed as she was at the thing, it took several attempts to actually kill the Temmie. The other three were still sticking back, getting angry at the fall of their peer. That was one trouble with knives and fists: she had to run right up to the monsters, dodging their attacks on the way, in order to take them out.

Then again, that was part of the reason she always liked knives. They had a certain feeling of being personal. You had to get right in someone's personal space to attack them with a knife, where you could best experience their horror, pain, and fear. It just wasn't until she came down here that she could break out of her shell of trying to be normal and instead be who she was.

 **I think we can agree that we don't want to waste a Load on Temmies, so here, try an old spell. I never really got the chance to use it in earnest, because of some loser little brother who chickened out at the last moment.**

 _Sorry… I don't remember, but sorry._

While the two of them argued, Chara followed the thoughts that Chara had given her to cast attack magic. She couldn't see what was happening, but she saw it like in a dream, a fragment of power in the air taking the form of a thousand knives that hurled themselves into the three Temmies. Her aim was wild, but there were so many that two exploded into dust and the third fell onto the path and was easily taken down while its eyes were full of fear.

"It's not quite as personal, but it is satisfying," she said. "Though I'm gonna have to practice it to be any good at it."

 _Don't…!_

 **Head further down the path towards the south and Temmie Village should be right nearby. I hope they haven't run, this should be a fun practice.**

Chara laughed.

Never end never end never end

* * *

The oldest human to come into the underground had still been a teenager, almost an adult if he remembered their standards right. The boy had come with a strange new weapon, a gun, which was devastating. It was somewhat confusing how that one had come to his end. While everyone around here knew that the gunslinger had been killed by a mysterious monster here in Waterfall, he owned a few documents that claimed the gunslinger had made it clear to the castle and nearly won against Asgore. The gunslinger seemed to have caused the king a debilitating injury, but that was not the case in everyone's memory. Of course, the king had been reclusive for decades so it was hard to confirm this.

The youngest human to come into the underground so far had been a nine-year-old girl who brought a frying pan and cooking apron to defend herself with. And she'd gotten far too, getting into Hotland before members of the royal guard took her down. She had mostly run from fights, but had bashed a few monsters to death as well. As for her, her story was clear. Only the fist fighter who'd fallen in Snowdin or Waterfall had an uncertain fate, either killed by Undyne when she was a fresh recruit to the Royal Guard or gravely injuring Undyne and getting killed by another member of the guard. Although the first fate seemed to be true because the latter ended up discouraging Undyne from continuing to fight.

However, the human who entered his shop that day was even younger than the frying pan girl. She just had a backpack, a flashlight, and a spider doll with her. The teenagers and even the nine-year-old seemed capable of being on their own, but this little sprout? She should really be home with her family. Then again, there was no way for her to stumble into the underground anywhere near here; she must have some skill, or a guardian angel.

He didn't want to be involved in the soul scheme anymore. "Hey kiddo, need something?"

"Are you Gerson?" she asked. "I'm Frisk, and Napstablook said that you might have some food for sale that I can actually eat."

The old turtle nodded. "Sure enough, I've got some crab apples and tortoiseshell bread. Don't worry, the bread's not made with actual tortoiseshell. Even have some sea tea if you're thirsty."

"I thought crabapples weren't good to eat," she said, but she seemed curious as she came up and put her hands on the counter.

"Well they look like crabs but taste like apples," Gerson said, bringing out the basket of them. The fruits had the bright red of a cooked crab on their skin, plus a shape like their shells.

Once she took one and smelled it, she nodded. "I'll try it, and some sea tea please. Um, how much?"

He should bump the price up because she was a human. But he could hear her stomach growling and she did say Napstablook sent her here. Anyone who got friendly with that Blook had to be a good person in Gerson's book. "Twenty-three gold, does that work for you?"

Frisk nodded and took off her backpack to carefully count out the money. However, she frowned at one piece. "Um, is this a quarter or a nickel?"

"What's that you're asking?"

"Well this one is a penny," she pointed out a one gold piece, "So it's one money, right? What about them?"

Definitely not old enough to be on her own. "That's right. And that's a five piece, that's a ten, and, hmm," he got another coin out of his register for demonstration purposes, "and that's twenty-five."

"Okay," she said solemnly, then took another minute to make sure she got exactly twenty-three. "That right?"

"Yes, good work," Gerson said, making her smile. He smiled back without thinking. Just based on that, she seemed to have a good soul. "Since you got it in one try, how about I throw in a free slice of tortoiseshell bread with butter as well?"

"Are you sure, mister?" she asked. When he nodded, she added, "Thank you. Um, can I ask you some things?"

"Sure, it's a slow day at the shop," he said, going over to where he kept some bread for himself to get them each a slice. Meanwhile, she settled herself on a bench by the wall with her bottle of sea tea and the crab apple. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well see, I'm trying to get to the barrier to get home," Frisk explained. "But Captain Undyne keeps chasing me across the wooden paths and throwing magic spears at me. And then I've got some ghost of a kid monster following me around and he's all scared and confused, doesn't even remember his own name. I read the signs on the way here, though, and they say that only human souls can become ghosts after they die. Monster souls don't linger and Napstablook says he and the weird dummy are Blook monsters, not ghosts."

Undyne would be an obstacle to this child, but Gerson was soon distracted by her talk of a monster's ghost. When he looked at Frisk as he passed over a plate of bread and butter, he could see hints that her soul wasn't alone in her body. "The signs tell what we know. Why do you think your ghost is a kid monster?"

"Cause I've seen him a few times and he looks like Ms Toriel," she said. "But small like me, with white fur and long droopy ears. He sounds like a kid too, and says that some nightmare was with him. But I don't know a lot, he was quiet up until today. I'd like to help him out, cause Gran says that ghosts only linger if they have things they couldn't finish in life that they need to get done."

"Oh, that reminds me of sad times," Gerson said, feeling some of that heartache again. "Not many details, but I remember the emotions. Sorry, lass, but I'm an antique myself and my memory's unreliable. But that time," he sighed and briefly considered what to tell her. "You mention the name Toriel; do you know her?"

She nodded. "Yeah, she found me when I first fell down here and she was very kind to me. I was only with her a week, but I miss her and I've got her phone number to talk if I need to. I was thinking about asking her, but even when I just mentioned who I saw at first made her said. I don't want to make her sad, but, um," she stopped, not sure how to say something.

"Toriel did have a child long ago," Gerson said, setting his bread and butter down to watch her carefully. "His name was Asriel."

"As...riel?" Frisk's expression changed from curious concern to wary weariness; the color of her soul shifted from a determined red to the white of monsters. While her lips moved, Gerson wasn't able to hear any words from her. Then her soul shifted back to red and she looked thoughtful. "That seems right."

If that was Asriel's soul she had somehow, then there was something very important he should tell her.

 _Crack_

It wasn't until he had closed up shop to get some sleep that Gerson remembered the important thing that Frisk should know. They'd gotten off on a tangent and then to discussing how she might deal with Undyne; he'd forgotten entirely to tell her the importance of Asriel. Maybe he should find a way to tell her. But how?

On yawning, he decided that Frisk had a bright mind and a warm heart. If she didn't figure it out, someone else would and would be better able to tell her about it. She was a good girl; she would surely make it home safe.

never end never end never end

* * *

"You really have a blessed life, you know that?" Chara said that out of nowhere; Asriel had only been talking about things that their parents had told him.

"What do you mean by that?" the younger boy asked, trying to keep up with his adopted brother in the marshes of Waterfall.

"Lots of things. Like your parents don't care if we go out on days long walks like this and when we get tired, people welcome us in to sleep. Although I don't know about staying in Temmie Village again." He rolled his eyes.

Asriel smiled. "But they were fun, right? They get so excited by silly things."

"Makes me wonder how they'd react to certain things." He got a creepy smile at that, although Asriel had seen enough of that expression to find it funny even if it made him feel weird. Then Chara grabbed Asriel tightly from behind, pressing hard just below his neck. "Gotcha."

"H-hey!" he said, having some trouble speaking.

"I'm just playing with ya. My dad used to do this to me." Then Chara moved his head closer. "I bet people get real jealous of you. I bet they think it's not fair that you're so blessed when you're just a kid who's done nothing to get those blessings."

"People are nice to me, you too," Asriel said, trying to be tough even if this was a bit scary. Chara was just playing.

"Do you know what they say when you're not around? You can't read another's mind." Then he poked his neck. "But don't worry. I've got a plan that I'm working on that will make you great. I've got a plan to bring down that barrier to the surface."

"Really?" Asriel asked in awe, trying to look back at Chara. He was amazing to come up with that on his own. "How?"

"I don't want to explain here where echoes linger," he whispered. "And there's some things I need to read about, which is why we're going to Snowdin. However, I'm only letting you in on my little secret. You're special to me, but I'm trusting you a lot to keep quiet. If you don't," he pushed a bit harder on Asriel's neck with one finger, "you'll be in big trouble. But if this works, everybody is gonna see just how amazing you can be."

"I'll keep it a secret, don't worry," he said. "But wouldn't it show people how great you are if you come up with a working plan?"

Chara chuckled. "Oh, you know me, I don't like that kind of attention. It will be worth it to see you become the best king ever."

"Dad's the king, not me," Asriel said, smiling at the joke.

"You never know."

never end never end never end


	5. Dying, Undying, and Defeating

_A/N: To my lovely fifth reviewer, if you come back, yes, this is incorrect. *evil grin* You couldn't have fanfics trying to save Asriel (or even many shipping fics) if you had to stay correct. That's the fun of fanfiction, ain't it? Also, there's more time shenanigans than that going on here._

 **Chapter 5: Dying, Undying, and Defeating**

Because of those two, I can't save or load anymore. Their power with it overrides my own. It's so unfair! I was the only one with this power and now there's two. Well, four really, or maybe six? And the two pairs have yet to cross paths. They can't unless something extraordinary happens. At least one of them is Chara, the one with Chara.

Then again, this is far more interesting than anything I could come up with. I knew I had to watch over that eighth human to get what I want, but I didn't expect time itself to split into two paths following two different heroines. None of the usual suspects in time manipulation seem to know what's going on either. And the humans both said they saw Asriel before they came here; they were called and compelled by him. It's weird, I can't explain it.

I'm really happy to see Chara again, especially since he's grown so much more powerful. Won't he be impressed to see how much LOVE I've gotten! I would just watch the two Charas, but then, Frisk is... something else. I don't know why I feel happy watching her too, she's such a goody-two-shoes and absurdly lucky about it. I told her, it's kill or be killed. But she refuses to do either. Watching her stirs up memories I had stopped thinking on, remembering those things I had lost.

Yet I don't feel as hollow watching her, and watching Chara and Chara, I feel...

No, it's just confusing to be watching two timelines at once, all while remembering a third when I tried to be doing all this. At any rate, Chara and Chara are busy trying to overcome Undyne. Frisk and whoever's with her are coming to a point where they will have to fight Undyne. I wonder, who will defeat Undyne first? The Charas will kill her eventually, I know they will without a doubt. I managed to kill Undyne plenty of times. But what's weak LV 1 Frisk going to do about her? She should die once her determination fails, because that's proper.

I just want to keep watching them both; it'll be unfortunate when this ends.

No, that's wrong. Ending everything is the whole reason this is happening. Right Chara? That's why you wanted me to become a god.

Never end never end never end

* * *

"Couldn't you leave this to the head of the Royal Guard?"

Undyne got angry with the strange squat hooded figure standing by the snowy pine tree. "But I'm here and I can be a hero too! I'm gonna stop that human from hurting monsters."

He chuckled. "You have a rare spirit. Very well, but would you at least take some advice? Or I will go right to your boss and tell them you're out here."

"Fine, what've you got to say?" she asked, annoyed at him patronizing her but wanting a good chance before the head of the Royal Guard came in.

"This human fights not with magic, but with physical prowess. Many humans do this. While it can be devastating to us monsters, it takes a lot of energy. Use your spear defensively, wear him down. He will be more vulnerable to your magic when he's weary."

While Undyne never figured out who that stranger had been, it had been wise advice. She might not have gotten out of that fight alive without it. She might not have made head of the Royal Guard herself if things had gone differently.

never end never end never end

* * *

His new friend was weird, in a funny way. She could talk in two different voices, even holding a conversation with herself about the merits of spears, swords, and knives (but spears were the best because Undyne used them). While they got separated sometimes, Kid could find Chara again. Chara would seem happy, but wouldn't say what she was happy about. "It's nice she's around because it's weirdly quiet around here today," he said when asked about her.

"You shouldn't be here," Undyne said, her voice distorted in the metal helmet she wore. "Everyone's gone to hide somewhere safe. Go find them, and stay away from that human. She's dangerous." Then she clanked off, back in pursuit of the human girl.

Was she really dangerous? She'd seemed pretty cool to him. Kid thought about it, then hurried off to one of the small tunnels that adults like Undyne couldn't get through. If Chara wasn't really bad, then she might be able to crawl into the tunnel to move on ahead. But if Chara was bad, well, he could run through this tunnel and she would be too tall to do the same. He had to know.

At the other end of the tunnel, he had to do some hopping on poles to get to the pier where Chara was. She had paused, looking over a large platform that stood over the abyss. Now he just had to ask…

 _crack_ that face _crack_ worse than any nightmare _crack_

never end never end never end

* * *

Her heart was pounding, her blood racing, her excitement bursting. And she was just fighting some fish girl, but this was thrilling in a totally different manner than running through the shadows and jumping cowardly idiot monsters. Power radiated from the so-called heroine's left eye and magic filled the air around them, keeping the fish girl alive when anything else would have been dead. Her red hair whipped through the dark air, lovely in its own way but it would be so amazing to see it turn to dust. Why weren't more monsters this powerful?

Spears glowed like lightning and flew in flurries, forcing her soul to dance around with that magical spear. But eventually one of her punches would crush this heroine like all the monsters before her. If only they had a knife! That's make it so better _**crack**_

LOAD SAVE TWO

And just like that, the thrill was gone. This twinkling cave was only filled with the sounds of rushing water. Chara had a feeling like one of those spears had ripped right through her guts. When she put her hand on her chest, there was no wound there. "What the hell just happened?"

 **It's a special power rarely seen, the ability to SAVE your exact state and LOAD to return to that moment should anything go wrong.**

"Like a video game? But I don't think I've saved or anything."

 **You've never had need of it, so you didn't know. It takes a conscious effort to learn how to save, otherwise it happens when you're of the right frame of mind and in a quiet place.**

"So that fish girl killed me."

 **She is a powerful one, strangely determined for a monster. The idiot kid is going to show up in a couple of minutes, and then Undyne will be back to repeat that battle with you. But don't you see the beauty of it? You know how to handle her tricks, so you can do better. You can even figure out how to actually kill the kid before she jumps in.**

Chara nodded. "That'd be better." But then a wonderful idea came to her. "Oh, but if we wanted, we could save right before we move to kill somebody, and then just kill them over and over again as much as we liked."

 **Isn't it delightful?**

 _It's a nightmare_.

She grinned. "Oh man, I can't wait to put that to use on some suckers back home."

never end never end never end

* * *

"Stay away from the human," Undyne had said. "She might be dangerous."

But Kid didn't believe in that! Someone who had a Mercy as wonderful as Frisk had couldn't be dangerous. She'd even shared an umbrella with him and their conversations were fun. Although, was she really human? He'd thought she was just some really plain monster, not a horn nor scale on her. Not even a tail! Maybe she was.

He had to find out.

 _Crack_

Frisk was a human. But she seemed sad when he mentioned they had to be enemies, shook her head when he asked her to say something mean. "I can't. I made a promise not to bully back at school. Besides, you're nice and I don't want to be mean to you."

And then…. And then… Kid didn't want to be mean to her either, so he walked off only to trip and then… and then… it was so scary! This was one of the places where the abyss lay below the walkways, where the water tumbled so far down that no monster knew what lay at the bottom. Flying monsters said it was far too dark, even snuffing out glow spells. And if you dropped a stone off here, you would hear nothing.

And then Frisk had saved him. Well, tried to save him. She was small like him and only had the strength to catch his hands after she'd dropped her doll on the pier. She did not have the strength to pull him up and for a moment, Kid had been full of fear that he'd just pull his new friend down into the abyss as well.

But Undyne had saved them, of course. She pulled Kid away again, but didn't sound as stern when she sighed and told him, "Go back home, please."

Kid agreed quickly. For one thing, Hotland wasn't that much further away and he wasn't supposed to go that far on his own. But for the most part, he was still scared. Things could have gone so wrong. It hadn't, though. Undyne had saved him. She'd saved Frisk too even though she'd said she might be dangerous.

"Man, I hope Frisk gets home," Kid said as he walked through the wishing room. "But, I hope she comes back to visit too. I'll miss her."

never end never end never end

* * *

Chara might have known a spell now, but it took concentration to cast. Concentration she usually didn't have time for when she had to move her soul through many waves of spears. Sometimes blocking, sometimes dodging; she got barely any time to attack back. Undyne could produce a lot of spears.

LOAD SAVE TWO

 **Well, we're lasting longer.**

"This is ridiculous," Chara said. At least she wasn't getting hungry or tired physically. Mentally, though, she thought she should have been able to dodge that if her mind was a bit clearer. "Do we have any way to get a few minutes break?" She looked around.

 **You have only one save.**

"Yo!" a voice she was getting tired of called from the darkness. Chara grumbled, then threw her knife spell at the dinosaur kid. That finally killed him off for real, but it was so sudden that it wasn't satisfying. While he was gone, he didn't have time to realize the truth and become afraid of them.

A swarm of spears thicker than any she'd faced thus far surrounded her and killed…

LOAD SAVE TWO

"So she can get more intense," Chara said, then bolted further down the pier.

 **Where are _you_ going?**

"I need a break, god," she said, her footfalls echoing in the caves. They'd hear her. "I can load without dying, right? If we don't get a mental break, we're not going to get any further."

 **Fine, I'll make sure you don't accidentally save for the moment.**

Running did clear her mind some, enough so that when Undyne finally caught up to her, she lasted a good while.

LOAD SAVE TWO

And she was back on the large platform that was more suitable for battle than the last time. "The knife spell can kill the kid," she said quietly. "But let's see if we can't time it so we hit both of them with it."

never end never end never end

* * *

Frisk felt some fear looking up at Undyne. At the same time, she felt awe for the towering figure standing on the peaked rock looming over the path. She would be an awesome heroine if she'd seen her on TV, the black of her armor making her look strong and the red of her ponytail making her look cool. Even the fact that she seemed like a fish with fins on the side of her face and blue-green scales instead of skin made her look amazing.

But the one that Undyne said had to die for the hopes and dreams of everyone else was Frisk.

 _She's hesitating at parts and she's having trouble looking at you. I think she's trying to convince herself of that. Don't be afraid._

Once Undyne leapt down from her perch, she summoned a single green spear and tossed it at Frisk. But not point on; it was tossed on the side. It clattered onto the ground in front of her and vanished. "I don't want to fight," Frisk asserted.

"You have to," Undyne demanded, summoning another green spear. "But I won't fight unfairly. Take this to fight back on even grounds, or at least defend yourself."

She wasn't a bad person. A number of monsters had told Frisk that Undyne wouldn't hurt an innocent person and that she was honorable. And if what Asriel said was true, she just needed to show that she meant what she said. How did you do that when the other person was intent on battle? She wondered about it while she got control of the green spear and had to use it immediately to block some of Undyne's bright spears. _**crack**_

LOAD SAVE THREE

She appeared in a quiet place of marsh reeds, after Kid had nearly fallen off the pier and before the peaked rock where Undyne would confront her. Frisk shuddered at the pain although there was nothing wrong with her. "It happened again," she whispered, some tears coming to her eyes.

 _Oh, you can do that too? Um, it's called SAVE/LOAD. If you mess up big, or if you even die, you'll end up going back in time to redo what you did. But you have to have strong determination to be able to use it._

"Well I'm going to get back home," Frisk said, hugging her doll for comfort. "I said I'd do it no matter how scary it was. So, I have to do something about Captain Undyne."

 _She was waiting on us, so I think if we stay here to think, we'll have time._

Frisk nodded. If time went like it did before, Undyne was going to give a big heroic speech and take off her helmet. She would insist on battle and give her a green magic spear. According to her, it could be used to attack. But Frisk didn't want to attack her even if her attacks were hard to dodge. Wasn't there something that Papyrus had said, though? Sometimes if you showed enough Mercy, it could open a person's closed heart.

LOAD SAVE THREE

It was just taking a lot of trial and error to last long enough in these battles to get Undyne's heart to open even a bit.

Never end never end never end

* * *

Battling Undyne over and over again enraged Flowey. She just did not give up. He was sick of dying, he was sick of those bright flashes in the dark caverns, he was sick of her smell… he had to win by any means possible! There had been an idea in his mind, but it always seemed like it'd be too hectic to use. But that was by any means possible…

SAVE STATE FOUR

SAVE STATE THREE

SAVE STATE TWO

And leave one back further just in case things went horribly wrong. He cracked a vine in the air and waited. Not long until she came stomping up in her big metal shell.

There she was. "There you are, little killer flower," Undyne said with a snarl. "I'll pluck you once and for all."

"You have no idea how to garden, do you?" Flowey taunted, then sent a noose of bullets after her. With a flick of her wrist, she deflected them all with a green spear. That rooted her to the spot, as he wanted. SAVE TWO

She retaliated with a spinning storm of spears LOAD TWO that wasn't easy to navigate his soul through LOAD TWO but there was enough space in the formation LOAD TWO to manage it. SAVE THREE Next, he used several circles of bullets in succession LOAD THREE that she could dodge too LOAD THREE but if he spaced LOAD THREE the circles just right LOAD THREE she had to get hit with bullets trying to escape others. SAVE TWO

But she was tough, taking his hits far better than other monsters around here. And she was strong, killing him LOAD THREE in one shot, oh shoot, he meant to load state two, that round had to be repeated. It was slow going, plinking her down bit by bit. Maybe he should have worked on getting a higher LOVE before ticking off Undyne.

 _ **crack**_

Finally, she was down for good. She didn't turn into dust quite like the others, though. She had been melted inside out from her own power. It was beautiful, but Flowey didn't think he could get many more deaths like that. However, his LOVE had jumped immensely. He could feel the despair, horror, and fear in the wake of her death through his roots. Those who remained would turn to terror knowing that he was lurking in their midst.

Flowey laughed in delight. But then…

LOAD STATE FOUR

He needed even more LOVE in order to defeat Undyne properly.

Never end never end never end

* * *

Undyne had never felt so humiliated, so frustrated, so angry… justice needed to be served. A while ago, she had been disappointed that her enemy was so plain. Weren't heroes supposed to go after foes that looked as powerful and as hideous as their souls really were? Or perhaps they looked ungodly beautiful when they were pure evil. But no, this human just had dusty black hair, a striped shirt stained with some kind of yellow pollen, and some stolen gloves that came from another human long ago. It didn't seem right at the time.

Now, her looks didn't matter. This Chara had had a creepy smile as she slaughtered Kid without giving Undyne any chance of saving him. The dust (maybe even the pollen) was evidence of her many other sins. While she looked unremarkable, she was like death incarnate. No, not even that. Death could be gentle. Chara was simply cruel; even her spell was full of deadly knives.

She was creeping forward. It would be safer to keep forcing her to use the green spear that kept her from doing so. At the same time, Chara was blocking flawlessly when that magic was in play. It was almost like they had sparred together for years and this human knew how she cast. Undyne would swap out of green magic in order to use more chaotic spear patterns and Chara would keep creeping forward. That wicked smile was back on her face, like she saw her victory just in reach and was playing now, keeping the battle going out of some twisted thrill.

 _ **CRACK**_

She had done all she could; it was up to Alphys and Asgore now to save monsters from this devil in human guise.

 _crack_

The feeling was indescribable. Their plan, brought together through many reloads, had worked and it was perfectly delicious. "Ooo, I could fight with you like this forever," Chara said, feeling enraptured at the hitchhiker in her soul.

 **Oh yes, that was the best yet. I've tagged along with all the other humans who got lost down here, but none of them could make me feel like I do with you.**

"Want to go through it again?" she said, still smiling.

 **That sounds nice, but it cheapens the thrill of a real fight, trust me on that. The other monsters won't be… or maybe one will?**

"What's the matter?" Chara asked, not having heard that uncertainty out of him before.

 **Have you been having the feeling that we've done this before? Sometimes I get the feeling that we've walked this path before and something is just so subtly different that we're going through it again. Like there's two paths instead of one.**

That made her recall when she saw the archway after falling. "Every now and then," she admitted. "Like I assume most new people I meet are going to be stupid and selfish like everyone else, but when I first became aware of you in the Ruins, I just knew that you were a kindred spirit."

 **There have been moments of double vision, when I see into what could possibly be. SAVE/LOAD is a form of time manipulation. I wonder if someone else is manipulating time with us.**

"How would we know that, though?" she asked.

 **If we met them, we'd know. The other possibility here, the other timeline, well, it's a silly little girl who's getting all too lucky. I much prefer being here with you, but the fact that I can sense her so well makes me wonder if timelines can bleed into each other.**

"Huh. We'll we'll deal with that when the time comes. I just want to remember this battle."

never end never end never end

* * *

The genocidal one is becoming aware. The pacifist is not, but she's having trouble. Perhaps…

Ring ring…

"Hello? Who is this?"

"I'm a time lord."

"What?"

"Sorry, that went over your head, didn't it? I'm a friend. Can I tell you something about green magic?"

"Green? Like the spears?"

"Yeah. They plant you to the spot so you can't run when using them, not with your feet and not with your soul. But when you swap away from using green magic, then you can run."

"Oh."

"It's not honorable to fight an enemy who has fled from battle. You have to get them back into battle without hurting them to be counted as a noble hero."

"Oh, so if I run away when the green spear goes away, Undyne won't fight me. But she's really serious about killing me. Papyrus even said she was murdery when he's so nice."

"He was being nice in warning you. But then, she is a noble hero who thinks she's doing the right thing. Keep brave, Frisk, and an opportunity will come."

"Okay, thank you."

never end never end never end

* * *

The moment Undyne decided to change up attack styles when the human proved good at blocking and Mercy, she quickly fled. "Hey, get back here!" Undyne yelled, starting after her. This armor was hard to run in, but once she got started, she'd catch up.

But this wasn't how things should be! She'd had a big impressive speech ready for her official encounter with a human as part of the Royal Guard. She'd been ready to give it her full passion. Then, she got her first really good look at the eighth human to enter the underworld since it'd been sealed up. Before, she'd convinced herself that this human was full of trickery, being so small and getting Kid to trust her. Humans were evil, they had done horrible things to monsters during the war.

The eighth human was a small child, of an age where she should be innocent. While she had a look of steel in her eyes, she clutched a spider doll to feel secure. She had not yet drawn a weapon of her own or used a spell other than Mercy. When Kid had gotten in trouble, she went to help him without hesitation (perhaps without thinking because there was no way she could have been strong enough to save him on her own). She even naively used Mercy when Undyne was focused on taking her down. In that, she had definitely been trained by Papyrus.

She was fleeing from Undyne as if she didn't want to be hurt.

No, she was a human! She was naturally evil, just using this act to bring Undyne's guard down. Or if she was innocent, she was an agent sent by more manipulative humans to lower the guard of all monsters, to give themselves the excuse to invade and wipe them out for good. This girl had to be struck down. She had to be killed so King Asgore gained the power to take down the barrier and continue the war against humans on fairer terms. Yes, that had to be it. Whatever excuse the girl had, she had to die.

She caught up enough to send another green spear at the girl and make her stop. "Come on, face me like a true warrior!" Undyne snapped.

 _crack_

Really had been trained by Papyrus… but this Mercy was far greater than anything that skeleton had done, maybe greater than even Asgore had done. It was golden sunlight as she'd dreamed it being: beckoning, welcoming, embracing, saying that any dream could come true. Saying that any hope, any love, was worth pursuing for the sake of happiness.

"I don't want to fight," the girl said calmly.

But it was her duty. But it wasn't right. But she had to think of the greater good.

 _crack_

"SANS!" Undyne pounded the counter of the sentry post in frustration, getting showered on by some snow. It quickly hissed away once it hit the ground. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Careful there, I just fixed this station up," Sans said, opening his right eye.

Ignoring the comment, she demanded, "Why didn't you stop that human? You're supposed to be on post outside of Snowdin, not outside of Hotland! And now that humans has made it all the way out here!"

"I dunno," he said, stretching and cracking his joints. "Maybe I was on break? But, what are you doing chasing some unarmed little girl around?"

That stung. "It's not what it looks like." Giving up because he was always lazy, Undyne went back into pursuit.

 _Crack_

"It's not… what it… looks like..."

While Asgore's naming ability was unquestionably poor, the name for Hotland was unrelentingly accurate. The magma below glowed so bright that there was no need for lights here. The royal guards here were given a special coating to put on their armor or else they'd get heat stroke in seconds. However, she'd not expected this chase to go clear to Hotland. But… she couldn't give up… she never gave up…

She collapsed in a painful clatter of metal. She had to get out of this armor! But, she was a fish monster. She needed to be damp and Hotland was not a place that tolerated water. Her head spun and she forgot all about why she was even here. She needed to get out…. Get out! But her arms wavered when she tried to push herself up.

So hot… so… cold? A trickle of cold water poured over her head, refreshing her scales for a little while longer. When some got into her eyes, her vision cleared up and she saw the same human girl she'd been chasing crouching down to pour water over her. Once that cup was empty, she offered a second. "Here, drink this."

Undyne caught a word of gratitude before it got out, then took the cup of water and drank it quickly before it heated up. Maybe the girl's Mercy really was authentic? Because who would turn around and give a glass of water to someone who had been chasing them for several hours? That took a certain kind of hero. Yeah, the same kind of heroic heart that would rush to save someone when the heroine might not be able to save herself.

"Are you gonna be okay?" the human asked, all kindness and no grudges.

"Don't worry about me," Undyne said, getting to her feet. "I have to go back; can't go any further in this place like I am. If you go on ahead, well, only thing I can do is warn the guards in the capitol that you're coming. But I might forget to do that; the heat messes with my head, you know?"

She smiled up at her. "Be safe going home."

never end never end never end

* * *

I never thought that confrontation could end that way. How? It should have gone more like it had with Chara and… someone? Undyne not giving up until she was more than dead. Someone… someone just beyond my recognition, but seems all too familiar. I saw those memories for a bit.

 _I hold those memories._

M-me? But I don't like violence. I don't. It fills the emptiness, but once that thrill is gone, you're more empty than before. Was… was that really me, working with Chara to defeat Undyne? Or, was it me, watching in fear and then awe as Frisk used nothing but Mercy and mercy to overcome Undyne?

Who am I? The turtle had a name: Asriel. It sounds familiar, but, I don't remember. I remember Chara, I remember him very well. I remember Asriel through Chara's eyes and… and….

Chara through Asriel's eyes.

And I remember those dark thoughts in Chara's mind, Chara's too. And the loving thoughts in Frisk's mind. And… me? I'm confused, I don't remember. Am I Asriel? Or am I someone else? Why is my mind full of golden flowers? Why is it full of time and destruction?

There is something, though. When I watch Chara and Chara, I feel alone even being with them. Sometimes I can have fun with them, but sometimes I feel nothing but horror as they hunt down innocent monsters and take such glee in killing them as painfully as possible. But I'm not a part of their adventure. When I watch Frisk, though, I feel comforted by her warm presence. Once she realized I was there, she took me for a friend too and talks to me joyfully. She even talks to me for reassurance when facing this unrelenting foe. To me! She even started asking questions about me, or at least about Asriel, trying to help me. I'm a part of her adventure, I'm not alone with her.

I… I don't want to watch Chara anymore. They'll just keep killing. But a part of me is with them and I can't avoid…

A part of me, is with them?

Then, is a part of Chara, with me?

 **Heh, took you long enough to realize that, _little brother._**

Never end never end never end don't let this ever end


	6. Creepypasta, Edible Pasta

**Chapter 6: Creepypasta, Edible Pasta**

?: Hey man, I saw your Undertale topic on killing Monster Kid.

?: I'm not making it up! I just don't know how exactly I triggered it.

?: Don't worry about me believing you, because I do. Worry because it happened.

?: What are you talking about? And who are you anyhow?

?: I'm a time lord ;P And your copy of the game is seriously bad.

?: I don't have time for a nutcase.

?: Think what you will, I'll be watching. If anything else goes weird, I'll talk to you again. If anything goes horribly wrong, well, I'll be there to help. I'm an angel like that. 0;P

never end never end never end

* * *

"Um, miss, mister, um… what's wrong?"

"Hmm?" My cloak flapped as I turned to see a small creature coming up to me on the river pier. "It really does not matter what you call me," I told them. "What are categories besides something convenient to call people? But I am thankful for your concern. My wonderful boat got damaged and that makes me sad. I will repair it, but I am still sad." I turned back to my work, tools floating all around me to make my boat good again. "If you wish to take a ride, it will be a few minutes. If you wish to keep me company for a short while, that is kind."

"I suppose," they said, then yawned. "I have some questions, if you know about things."

"I hear much talk on the river," I told them. "Perhaps I know the answers you seek. Perhaps not. We cannot know until we try."

"Mmhmm." They seemed tired, but sat down nearby to talk. "What do you know about a monster named Asriel?"

"Asriel, Asriel..." the name brings forth a melody, which I hummed. "That is a tragic tale of long ago, dear child. Are you sure you wish to know? It may make you cry. It made many monsters cry and lose hope."

"I want to know," they said firmly.

My boat is my life and others are simply people who pass by me. It had suited me in years past, will suit me for years to come. So I told them. "We monsters have been imprisoned here for a thousand years. Some of us have found good ways of life down here, such as I. But I'm a simple creature. Others yearned to return to the wider world outside the barrier. We tried many ways to break it, but it never yielded. We prize hope as one of the greatest traits of the soul, yet hope eroded away as time battered it down. Many thought we'd never see the sun again; many were born down here and died never knowing what was outside. Many even forgot what humans or the sun looked like.

"And then, something beautiful happened that boosted our hopes and joys for a brief few years. The King and Queen of all monsters had been married a long time, unchanging until they finally had a child born to them. Prince Asriel was a joy to the whole kingdom, a light of goodness in our long dark imprisonment. On seeing him, many said, perhaps we could still find goodness in our sorrow, perhaps joy in our prison. He was a kind child with a pure heart, so that seemed very real.

"Then came a time when an earthquake shook the whole underworld. Things changed, and so Asriel and his parents traveled through the underworld to see what could be done to help people. And far away, the home we had first when we were sealed down here, the town had been so destroyed that it became known as the Ruins. There was even a place where, far far overhead where none of us could reach, a piece of the sky had been exposed to us.

"While there, Asriel came across a human child who had fallen down the new crevice. This child, Chara, was younger than the prince in body but older in mind; humans have shorter lifespans than monsters and thus grow faster. Asriel helped him to his feet and quickly made friends with him. The king and queen were uncertain at first, but they soon agreed to look after Chara. By the time they discovered that he could not pass through the barrier either, they cared for him so much that they adopted him and loved him just as much as they loved Asriel. Monsters began to think a little differently about humans watching Asriel and Chara play together. We thought, perhaps we could become friends with humans again and convince them to take down the barrier.

"And then, a tragic accident struck the royal family."

 _No. No, it wasn't an accident. It was intentional._

 _Crack_

Buttercups and Sun Morpheus, nightmares and daydreams both in yellow. They had a dream together, a dream to take down the barrier together. But it would require becoming like a god. Why did you want to do it?

I wanted to do a great thing. It seemed like the best thing possible. But… that's just how I feel. I don't remember.

It's more like you wanted to do a great thing so that people thought you were actually worthy as a prince.

Wh-why did you want to do it? Especially because buttercups… it had to be painful. And then the Sun Morpheus, it...

It tears you apart from the inside of your mind. We could have lost a whole lot more than your memories and most of mine. Then again, we would have gotten it all back if you'd just trusted me and **followed through with the plan! Worthless.**

Hic….I'm sorry!

 **Crybaby.**

I'm sorry.

Someone who keeps saying sorry instead of doing things will never have power. You don't deserve to have power. You just keep watching what I do like some sicko.

I don't like it!

Heh… are you sure about that? You can't win against me. And you know what? That's why. I knew that even if you got all that power, you couldn't ever win against me because you wouldn't fight. I would have been like a god. But then you had to ruin everything by refusing to fight and dying. You even crushed your parents' hearts and destroyed their marriage doing that.

Hic.

But you love me, don't you? I'm your big brother and only I can hurt you. And all this craziness with parallel timelines, only one can win out as truth. Chara's massively more powerful than Frisk and she's more willing to do what must be done. But these timelines aren't perfectly parallel, are they? They're touching, can't you tell?

Hic.

Eventually, we'll find some way to make even the timelines bleed, come to a confrontation which will prove which is the stronger, which will be truth. And your precocious little friend Frisk will be erased completely. She can't win against us, and you'll just drag her down as worthless as you are. I still want to know who caused this. They could be trouble.

 _But what about that flower that said Chara seemed familiar? Seemed familiar to me too somehow. He said I died in the throne room where golden flowers like him started to grow. Flowey… I won't tell him._

Never end never end never end

* * *

Knock knock

She stopped playing. Not that it had been serious, she was simply playing a familiar melody on the piano while thinking. What did she do about the young human? Now that her mind had cleared up, it irked her that she had to drop her duty out of gratitude. But then, what kind of hero killed a small child who did not even fight back? Any way it turned out did not sit right with her, even if she felt a bit glad that she hadn't killed the child.

Undyne went to answer the door and saw that it was Papyrus, a bit later than usual but then she had been busy too. However, there was a small figure right behind him: the human. When their eyes crossed, the human smiled.

 _Crack_ "No, I wanted to make sure you were okay. Can we be friends?" Frisk was very much like Papyrus in that way. _Crack_ Considering that just an hour ago, they'd been in a fight to the death, this meeting was going pleasantly. After a few polite questions, Frisk accepted her as someone to trust. _Crack_ "What about the water?" WHO NEEDS WATER FOR PASTA! c _rack_

Her house was burning. Flames poured out of the eye windows and smoke was escaping out of the vents. Not like it was the first time this had happened. Cooking was much more memorable if she had to follow it up with new construction.

"I told you we needed water," Frisk said.

Challenging her again was necessary. If she couldn't be a good friend to her, then she had to win back her honor in a duel. Although, maybe she wouldn't kill the girl. She really wasn't all that bad.

On being told to hit her with all she had, Frisk looked up at her, her brown eyes questioning if this was serious. Then she smiled, came over with open arms, and hugged Undyne around the waist. "You're really cool, I had fun."

It wasn't Mercy, but it made her heart melt into a puddle of happy goo. Undyne leaned over and hugged her back. She really was a wimpy bighearted girl, very much like someone else she knew. Realizing that, she also realized that she didn't want anything bad to happen to Frisk. But Hotland could be dangerous and Asgore… how did they get Frisk through the barrier without killing anyone?

While she wasn't much of a thinker, something else made sense to Undyne. She could go to Snowdin and hang out with Papyrus and Sans. They hadn't minded before. But, something else…

Undyne could think of one person who could help in the next stage of Frisk's journey, perhaps even all the way to the very end for a peaceful conclusion. "Well I can't stay around here until the fire goes out and the house get repaired again. And you've got a different kind of danger ahead of you. So, let's get back to Hotland and I'll introduce you to a friend who can help out."

"Are you gonna be okay there?" she asked in worry.

"Don't sweat it," Undyne said. "I don't have the bulky armor on and if we catch a ride with the ferry person, we won't have to be out in the heat long either."

never end never end never end

* * *

Today had been action-packed, thrilling, hilarious, and touching. Well, not for her. For the girl on the screen, it had been so. And it all came to a heart-warming moment when Frisk decided her most powerful hit would be a hug. Alphys smiled at the sight, resting her chin in her hand. Seeing what she did, that hug probably was Frisk at her most powerful.

Then she heard what they were talking about. Undyne wanted to introduce Frisk to someone in Hotland who could help her out. And it wouldn't be far from the ferry dock.

"W-wait, are they coming here?" Alphys said, her chest tensing up. "O-o-oh no! This isn't going to work, um..." She scrambled out of her seat and hurried to the other end of the lab. "Mettaton!"

There was a hum as what looked like a normal piece of wall moved out and aside. "Is the show starting tonight or tomorrow?" Lights like a question mark accompanied his words.

"Tomorrow, it'll have to be tomorrow," she said. He sighed in disappointment. "Sorry, sorry, but she's coming here with Undyne and if we get things started tonight, Undyne's going to get involved directly and that'll not turn out well. Besides, she's a little girl and she'll probably be tired soon after all the running she had to do earlier today."

"I suppose it won't be exciting when my co-star's not in top condition," Mettaton said, turning aside and rolling off. "Very well, I can make sure all the set pieces are good to go. Treat her well, all right? We want an excellent show for the underground!"

never end never end never end

* * *

Chara was in a high mood; not only had she conquered Undyne, but now she'd wrecked a couple sentient planes, stomped out some living volcanoes, and sliced up some fiery ropes. They were trying to be brave, saying they were there to protect their families and friends. For that effort, she laughed at them and destroyed them. Perhaps they could find those cowardly monsters hiding away. They'd need a high level of LOVE to deal with anyone who could be a real threat, namely other humans.

 **Oh yes, this is what it should have been like decades ago! I wish I could be there with you physically to let loose. But watching the dust of death fly about you is a thrill as well.**

She laughed again. "For you, I'll kill as many as you like."

 _P-please hic stop..._

"Shut up Asriel!" They both said it, and they both laughed at it.

Somewhere out of their reach, a golden flower frowned. Chara and Chara were masters now, working in tandem to slaughter all who came across their path. Chara summoned the magical knives and experimented with other spells while Chara now wielded a cast iron frying pan that had been the first weapon they deemed decent since the gloves and pocketknife. Since she could now move while he cast, their mayhem was going much faster. It should be exciting to watch.

But it wasn't. It was boring. He had gone through many timelines where he simply killed everyone he came across well. As well as many timelines where he hunted monsters down just the same as they. There was some interest in watching the dynamics of Chara, Chara, and Asriel, but it was getting the same. It was all the same. It was just death and when the additional power to RESET was discovered, it would all be erased once again to be murdered all over again. Nothing changed. In that, he was tempted just to love the thrill of death too even if it was so brief and small.

On the other side, Frisk and Asriel was doing truly novel things. Chara was there too, but his voice was so weak to them that he'd only made a difference recently. When he had done things peacefully, he'd never gotten the effects and friendships that Frisk had gotten. What made her so different? He was jealous. And yet, eager to watch more of what she did.

Could she even come up with a completely different conclusion? In his view, that was impossible. But a lot of what she'd done seemed impossible in his view. Not that it would really change things, a RESET would undo it all.

A tiny voice within him wished that RESET would never occur to Frisk and she would become truth.

Never end never end never end

* * *

"My Gran says her passion is baking but she's not as loud about it," Frisk said with a smile.

"But it's fun!" Undyne whined on purpose. This was obvious as she was stirring the hot water and pasta so as not to damage the pot and Alphys' lab. "So how do _you_ tell when the spaghetti's done?"

"You throw it at the wall and see if it sticks," the girl said. "If it does, it's done."

"Oh really?"

"W-wait," Alphys spoke up from where she was clearing a table so they could eat. "Um, do you mean just one piece of spaghetti gets thrown or the whole pot?"

"Why would you throw the whole pot at the wall if you mean to eat it after?' Frisk asked, confused. Undyne gave a large grin at that, which made Frisk laugh. "Just one piece, okay?"

"Fine, just ruin all my fun," she said dramatically, tossing her head.

"Oh good," Alphys said in relief. "It's just, there's lots of computers and valuable equipment in here and below, well, just a lot to wreck with a single pot of boiling water."

When she first detected that a new human had finally entered the Ruins after fifty years since the sixth soul was captured, Alphys figured that it'd be like a violent aggressive human like most of the rest. But the human stayed inside the Ruins for ten days, longer than all but the very first captured soul. Then when she came out, she looked so harmless, a homesick child who still admired a wonderland they had stumbled upon. It didn't take long for Alphys to want to help and protect her. Which couldn't be done, but other ideas had come to her.

It had not occurred to her that one evening, Undyne would bring the child in and demand a kitchen so they could make pasta like the child thought it should be done. Alphys had been really worried because she didn't think her stock of food could match what they expected, especially as the child spoke of vegetables, sauce, and meatballs to make a real meal. Then she'd gone into her pantry and found exactly what Frisk was asking for: an unopened box of spaghetti, jarred tomato sauce, a can of green beans that could be microwaved, and a bag of frozen meatballs.

There was a note with the unexpected ingredients too. 'treat the girl well and listen to her okay? sans'

It was unusual, enough to make Alphys consider it as the three of them sat down to eat. Sans was brilliant and she was one of the few he was willing to talk about science, magic, and technology with (mostly because they'd worked together in the past and she'd sworn to keep his ruse). However, he was really lazy, using his talents mostly for pranks. He'd quit working here as a scientist, although for what reasons she wasn't entirely sure. Others had quit or gone, although she didn't recall some of them off-paw. Sans was putting a lot of effort into assisting Frisk. Alphys had seen it in monitoring the girl. But to go this far for a home-cooked meal?

Perhaps it was as some of the monsters said, that Frisk's Mercy was more potent than anyone save maybe Asgore. Perhaps it even affected Sans. What would she be like at other magics?

Although Alphys had to admit that this was a really nice change of pace from her usual diet. It was lively and noisy here with the conversation, with surprisingly delicious food considering who'd been involved in making it. And, well, Undyne was here too, her manner very animated tonight. "I've got to tell Papyrus that I've found the secret to great spaghetti!" she said, taking out her phone to text him.

Frisk hid her smile behind a fork wrapped with pasta, trying very hard not to laugh. "We just followed the instructions on the box."

"I always thought it was lies to keep the real methods to chefs," Undyne replied. "But I'd get there through the passion of my soul, just like fighting! But, maybe following some recipes first could help."

"Well you do have to start learning to fight with set drills, don't you?" Alphys asked. "N-not that I know much about it, I'm not a fighter."

"That was what I was doing," Undyne said. Then her phone chimed, getting her to check it and then laugh. "He said, 'OMG, so you do have to burn down the house?!' No, it's water!" She quickly texted back.

"Y-yeah, you'd better tell him that," Undyne said, feeling that there might be a second house fire if not.

"If you had to burn down the house for great food, all the restaurants would have to be rebuilt every day," Frisk said thoughtfully.

 _See now, this, this never happened to me, nor can it ever happen with the Charas._

Alphys wondered if she deserved this kind of happiness. Probably not. But, she hadn't asked for it, and it was a bright spot in a long string of dreary days. This whole journey of Frisk's was a bright spot in her days. Hopefully, it could become something more.

"Alphys?" Frisk asked, bringing her out of her thoughts. "You're a scientist, so you're real smart, huh? Do you know about souls?"

She knew far more than any person should know about souls. Feeling tense, she tried to smile and not show how the question made her sweat. "Um, er, well yes, I do know some about souls. Why do you ask?"

"Cause weird things have been happening to me that I think have to do with ghosts," she said. "Not Blooks, I know they're different. It's always the golden flowers: whenever I get near them, I hear the ghosts more clearly, and they joined me when I fell down here onto giant golden flowers. And I heard a story just today about the two princes of the kingdom of monsters and how Asriel absorbed Chara's soul and was able to cross the barrier. I think I got in here because I was chasing their souls still fused together. I saw a ghost that is probably Asriel, but monsters can't turn into ghosts. Humans can, and I think cause they were fused and Chara turned into a ghost, Asriel turned into a ghost with him. And just today, I fell on golden flowers again and Asriel, at least I think it's him, has started talking to me in my head."

Once she presented the situation, Alphys was intrigued. None of her studies suggested something like this could happen. But... "That might be possible," she said, putting a claw to her chin. "We don't have much information about human souls now, but a soul trait your kind has called determination is most likely responsible for human souls turning to ghosts after death. If Chara had sufficient determination, he might have been able to support Asriel's soul too even though it's been nearly seventy years since their deaths." She could be totally wrong on that, but it matched what she knew.

"Well I know that ghosts only stick around if they have a reason, and you should help them solve that reason to put them to rest," Frisk said. "But would it put them both to rest if I fix their problem?"

"I would assume so," Alphys said. "Hard to say since I've never read anything like this situation."

"The two princes made a great sacrifice trying to break the barrier after Chara's unfortunate death," Undyne said, solemn now. "Perhaps if you worked on doing that, it would resolve their ghostly state."

It wasn't exactly a sacrifice, Alphys thought. But that was yet another secret she never told anyone. However, her statement reminded her of something. "Oh, but if you have their souls with you, you can probably pass in and out of the barrier freely just like they did. That means you could find resources for us in human libraries so we could find a better way to break the barrier! Um, that is, if your parents let you. You are kind of young for this."

"I'll talk to them, I'm sure they'll agree to it," Frisk said. "Although, I wanted to call Toriel so Asriel could talk to her, but..."

Undyne hit the table with her hands and Alphys briefly winced at the sound, worried that she'd crack it. "Toriel? You know the queen?"

She nodded as if it wasn't a big deal. "Yeah, she helped me out when I first fell into the Ruins, bought my doll for me too and gave me her old phone. So I thought it'd be really nice if they could talk, b...but..." her expression rapidly changed from a calm concern to a nervous breakdown, dropping her fork on her plate and starting to cry. "N-no..." she said softly in a voice that didn't seem to be hers.

Then, she really had the souls of the princes, at least Asriel. Meanwhile, Undyne reached over and touched her shoulder, making her flinch. "Frisk?"

"Gone, please no," she said, then some of her calmness returned. "Asriel, it's okay, I won't make you if you don't want to." Then Asriel mumbled some more.

Calming a child wasn't something Alphys was prepared to do, much less calming a ghost child who was living inside another child. But after dinner was done, she could suggest that they watch some anime. Maybe it would help to give him something to be happy about.

Never end never end never end

* * *

"She's just so cute like that," Alphys said softly.

Undyne smiled and nodded. They were sitting on a couch watching anime, but Frisk was now fast asleep in leaning on her side. When she'd put her arm around the girl, she didn't expect her to get this comfortable in her presence. It made her feel guilt over spending much of the day hurling spears at her. At the same time, her total forgiveness of that made Undyne want to protect her even more. It was good that she and Asgore might not need to fight. She couldn't even imagine that now.

"W-well I hadn't prepared to take in any guests, but I think some of the old living quarters are still clean enough to let her sleep in," Alphys said. "And, what about you?"

"I could crash anywhere for the night, even this couch," she said. "Sorry about this, but you know how it is when your house catches on fire." She smiled. "I'll just grab some guys tomorrow and work with them on fixing it back up again. It's practically routine now."

"It's no trouble for you to be here," she said.

"Hey, but really, could you help her get to the capitol quickly?" she asked. "She's been taking things peacefully and bravely, but I know you've got some rowdy monsters like Madjick around here. Especially since she might be able to just walk through the barrier now without doing anything more, we need her to get back home safe. She could be our greatest hope of getting back to the surface."

"O-oh sure, I, um, I was planning on helping her already," Alphys said, fidgeting with her claws. "See, um, I was instructed to observe the last human who came and in watching her make friends in spite of the struggles, I really want to see her succeed. You know, even though this is only the second day she's been out of the Ruins where I could start watching her."

"I know, she has a way with people, much like Asgore does." Thinking on him, she sighed. "I really should contact him, let him know that they should try to work things out her way first. Maybe not about Asriel right off, he might have trouble letting her go back home if he knows Asriel is with her. But..."

"Can't you talk with him as leader of his guard?" Alphys asked.

Undyne shook her head. "I've got his phone number, but he's not returned any of my calls for years. What about you, as the Royal Scientist?"

"Um, well, he hasn't called me himself in a long while, I can't say how long," she said, thinking.

"He's still kicking around, I'm sure of that," she said, since a few members of the Royal Guard often went into the castle to speak to the king. "But he's always, well, he's long been in a mood where he can't bring himself to leave the castle. He never really recovered from the chaos around the princes' deaths. And some days, he never answers the phone. I could try and I probably will, but it's a slim chance he'll pick up. Guh, maybe I should put off trying to fix my house again and go right to the capitol ahead of Frisk. That'd be most certain."

"What about the former queen?" Alphys asked.

That was another option. "She did give me her number," Undyne said. "And since Asriel's making it hard for Frisk to talk sometimes, I ought to inform her of what's going on. Although, that's going to be hard."

 _crack_

"You didn't kill her, did you?" a stern voice came from the phone.

Undyne flinched at that even though she was far from the Ruins where Toriel was hiding out. "No, not a chance," she said. "Hey, I wouldn't have your phone number if I had, right?"

"I suppose that is so," Toriel said, calming down.

She ran her fingers through her loose hair. "It's kind of strange since when I got up this morning, I was sure that I would. But then I just had a great dinner with her and Dr. Alphys, and she fell asleep snuggled against me not long after. I don't want to hurt her at all. On the contrary, I'm thinking of skipping sleep myself to get to the castle and talk to Asgore about her."

"That's not very healthy, especially for a royal guard like you."

Shrugging, Undyne said, "Eh, what's a lost night of sleep compared to what could happen if I don't? There's something great that," no, she couldn't take this as great right off, "Um, well, it's complicated. But the main reason I wanted to talk with you. Did Frisk ever mention a ghost to you?"

For a moment, Toriel didn't answer. When she did, she was quiet. "Yes, one like Asriel. But, it can't be. It can't be possible."

"Toriel," Undyne said, wishing she could be face to face for this talk. But she couldn't get into the Ruins herself. "It's not only possible, it's happening. Frisk has some hitchhikers in her soul, specifically Asriel and Chara as they were fused together when... you know. She wanted to tell you, but apparently she can only talk to Asriel right now who's without his memory, and very scared and confused. He made her cry hard when she mentioned telling you about him."

 _crack_

She'd stayed up later than normal, sitting in her reading chair while waiting to see if Frisk would call. She said she would, but maybe she'd gotten tired and fell asleep before she could. Maybe she had died, in which case she regretted the hope in letting her keep the phone. But when Toriel finally got a call, it wasn't Frisk.

It was news that she'd never thought possible.

She wanted to cry, but more than that, she wanted to go help them.

never end never end never end

* * *

?: Hey buddy, how's it going?

?: You again?

?: The game's getting further from canon, isn't it?

?: Well, yes. I just checked an FAQ and I've had to hunt down more monsters than on a typical genocide run. Like, Hotland and the Core are asking for 45.

?: That's just for Hotland, you'll have a separate counter for the Core if you continue.

?: Shit. But how do you know that?

?: I told you, I'm a time lord. Or something like that 0;P I have a different copy of the game myself that's running on a Nuetral-Pacifist right now and the Undyne date ended up with Undyne bringing Frisk to Alphys' lab.

?: But nothing like that happened when I did pacifist.

?: Things change. You got a strange patch to the game before you started this second genocide run.

?: I thought that was official? What's going on?

?: Another question is, are you going to believe me now?

?: Well look, if you know so much, is there any sign in Hotland I'll get like killing Monster Kid that'll prove the difference? More than just the upped encounter requirements. I did do a genocide run before, but the game crashed before I got to Asgore.

?: Muffet doesn't seem to care if you're on Genocide normally and is easy to kill. She won't be like that for you. The divergence is growing powerful on both our games.

?: I've read posts of people wishing there weren't such easy battles. Maybe I've got a beta patch for hard mode? Unannounced? And I didn't ask for it, though it's even more tedious.

?: You've got a very corrupted patch direct from Chara; I got a matching patch, but I'm not revealing my sources. If you finish this game, it'll finish you.

?: Hey, are you trying to make some creepypasta fake without telling me?

?: I'm trying to save you.

Never end never end never end

* * *

Asriel!

Divergent? It's... getting clearer. No, not quite. More coherent. Still fractured. Not right.

Asriel?

How many layers are we dealing with? Timelines, games, people pulling strings that probably shouldn't be touched. Books inside books, plots inside plots. But what lies at the center of it all?

 _Asriel Dreemurr..._


	7. Spider Crusher, Sadistic Tiles

**Chapter 7: Spider Crusher, Sadistic Tiles**

Waiting… waiting… when would this end? When would the action start? He'd never had such an uncertain performance time, the only thing being certain was it was today. But his co-star for the day was a child, so certain accommodations had to be made. Frisk had to prepare for her role unwittingly: taking a morning shower, getting a good breakfast (that surprisingly the lab had ingredients for), and hearing that Undnye had taken off on business. Then she wanted to call a few people to apologize for not calling last night and let them know that she was okay.

Through the hidden closet door, he could hear her talking with Alphys. "Can the phone get through the mountain? Cause I know my dad's cell number by heart, but it told me it couldn't reach him."

"That's hard to say," Alphys replied. "We only set up our network to handle calls and internet through the underground. But up in the capitol, some services like radio, television, and computers can pick up signals from Ebott Town. It's higher up the mountain where the earth between us is thinner. So, maybe these upgrades will let you call your family up in the capitol. I'd try the art walk, that's the best bet since it's closest to the surface without going into the castle."

"Okay, I hope I can do that."

"Um, I suppose it's about time for you to be off." Good, it was finally time! Make contact with the lab network, activate MTT broadcasts, prepare for the grand opening of his greatest show yet! "Oh, but, um, well how do I say this?"

"What's the matter?" Frisk asked.

"Well I'd like to send you straight towards the Core, as some of the capitol's buildings extend downward around the generator. But when I checked on the lab status, something's happened to cause the elevators problems and restart many of the puzzle defenses. From the looks of things, I think Mettaton has done that."

"Who's Mettaton?" The broadcast started in the middle of their conversation, but hopefully that line should cue viewers in, letting them call their friends to tune in. For shortly, he could burst right through the wall dramatically.

 _crack_ a crazy killer robot with a thirst for human blood… _crack_

Frisk was adapting well, taking the cues and having fun with the unexpected quiz show. But one question made her balk. "Eww, kissing gives you cooties. Do I have to answer that?"

He was supposed to use a very mild stun attack if she gave the wrong answer. In this case, though… "Fine darling, the question is thrown out because our contestant still believes in cooties," Mettaton said, tossing a card behind him.

Other than that (and answering the spontaneous question of 'who does Dr. Alphys have a crush on' with an uncertain 'the girl from Mew Mew Kissie Cutie'), the first episode went smoothly. At least Alphys giving her the answers made sense with this small human. If she was older like the other humans who fell underground was here, then they should have been able to solve most of the questions. Mettaton just hoped that his viewers would understand that he was playing a villain here, not being one. That would be disastrous publicity.

Never end never end never end

* * *

When the roads over the lava fields became quiet, with only the hiss of steam and molten rock, Chara hurried ahead to the elevator. She didn't even bother looking around since she felt that there were no monsters around. It had been a subtle feeling at first, but now she was pretty sure there was no one around. Save maybe that ridiculous looking robot.

 **How do we kill a robot anyhow? They didn't have such things when I was alive.**

"Hell if I know," Chara answered. "I was thinking punting him into the lava if we could make sure he couldn't rocket off or something. Lava should get rid of most things. Or, I suppose magnets and strong electricity could work, since that messes up computers. Or cut off his power supply, whatever makes him run."

They got to the elevator and found that one of the third level locations was unlocked. There, she felt the presence of something. The area had changed too, a darker more purple tone than the rest of the lab area. From the cobwebs, it was either long abandoned or long since it'd been cleaned. A small black spider crossed the pathway in front of the elevator, pausing as if it could notice them.

Chara stepped on it. "Man, wish I'd thought to bring a lighter. Then we could toast some spiders."

In her head, Chara laughed. **You really do that? Wish I could see. I usually just pluck their legs off.**

"Plucking their legs is fun, but I've had so much fun with lighters, bugs, and spiders." She smiled at some memories. "Like catching moths to stick onto a spider web, and then once the stupid spider's busy with that, torch the web, moth, and spider." She stopped before the walkway narrowed and stretched her arms over her head.

 **What're you doing stopping?**

"Just taking a break, man," she said, swinging her backpack off. "Should get a snack and drink too."

 **That reminds me of something. Let me see…**

Finding some things she'd stolen from monster shops, Chara sat down for a snack. She wished she had something more substantial than apples, cinnamon buns, and weird icicle pops, though. She'd been craving a burger and fries ever since passing by that one place in Snowdin where she couldn't get into the kitchen. Maybe she should have grabbed those instant noodles she'd spotted; they didn't appeal to her very much, but they'd be filling.

When she was done eating, she kept sitting there. It made her wonder for a moment why. Maybe just because she hadn't slept in a bed or had a proper shower in days. All this dust and pollen still clung onto her. But she didn't feel all that tired and she wanted to get to the next battle.

There was a feeling like a string snapping. **There, that help?**

She got back to her feet, her energy picking back up. "Yeah. What'd you do?" She headed on in to the doorway ahead.

 **There's some line here to another being, in a wholly different state then me. It's been mostly helpful, but sometimes I've felt it get in our way a little. Like just now when it wanted you to keep still. I didn't want to mess with it at first because it connects through our SAVE/LOAD ability, but I don't want us to stop since we're on a roll. Don't worry, the power's still active.**

"I hope it's not some fool trying to control me," Chara said, angered at the thought.

The room inside was dark, many shadows obscuring the walls. A short ways in, she stepped in something sticky. It looked like webs, so she stomped on another spider in vengeance and tried to keep away from the floor webbing. However, there came a point where it completely covered the path and if she was going to reach her destination at the other end of the hall, she had to cross it. A lighter would be really nice right about now, or fire magic.

Without warning, she was thrown into battle and assaulted with several waves of magical spiders that she got banged up hard by. As the attack ended, her assailant dropped into view. She was a ridiculous spider monster that tried to look cute. "You burn spiders in the webs, do you?" she asked in hostile tones. "You badmouth us right in front of our home, do you? Well little miss, you're going to pay severely for that."

"You've got another thing coming," Chara said, trying to get some non-sticky footing while Chara used their knife spell on her. However, the spider girl slipped through it without much effort on her part.

No matter what happened, she could still load time backwards. She'd learn this fight too and win it. There was nothing these monsters could do that could truly stop them.

Never end never end never end

* * *

?: Hey weird time lord person! Are you on?

?: Yup. Looks like trouble.

?: I believe you now! I went to grab a drink before fighting Muffet and when I got back, the game was playing itself! I just watched it through a failed attempt on her, now it's running a second attempt. And when I went to touch the keyboard, I got zapped.

?: Hmm. Well that impatience is good for me, but having physical effects in our world is bad for you.

?: What do I do about this? I just wanted to finish playing the game.

?: You can give up on this copy. Let me take the corrupted version, then I'll make sure your computer's clear before giving you a replacement copy, no charge. One that won't be messing up like this, I promise.

?: Sure man, I don't want to mess with this. But what's going on?

?: I'll explain when I'm over there. For now, though…

PAUSE

never end never end never end

* * *

Something had happened, something had changed. Sans could feel it, but he couldn't explain it. From experience, he knew someone had just messed around with time. But what was different? He tried to think it through, sipping at some mustard in the meanwhile.

There was a light thump from something landing on his stand, but not the thump of snow (especially not out here in Hotland). When he looked, there was a brown cat smiling back at him. "Hello, we meet face to face at last."

"Hey there, never expected a Cheshire cat to show," Sans said, tapping the cat lightly on the nose. But she did have the qualities of someone who could mess with time.

"You didn't specify what kind of angel," the cat said, sitting down. "Things are lining up well now on my end."

Then that was real. "Things are going nice and hot here, but as expected on the other side of the coin. Do you know what's going on?"

The cat's tail flicked. "Mostly."

"Are you gonna explain or have you got your own tongue?" Sans joked with her.

"I'm a cat, you expect me to be straightforward?" She rubbed at an ear with a paw, then looked at him somewhat seriously. "You break rules. You knew all at one time. Do you remember how far back that knowledge went?"

"There was too much to remember intentionally," he said. "There's some facts, some phrases about the war and other parts of the imprisonment."

"That's because that's all there was at the time: some facts and some phrases. Like a video game may contain some facts and phrases, maybe cutscenes, of what happened before its main story occurs. But that's it. So what happens when something occurs to a game, or some other piece of fictional media, that makes it a world of its own without the full complement of knowledge and history of a world? It has to fabricate truth on its own, drawing from any possible resource at its disposal."

"That would explain quite a lot," Sans said. The names for the time manipulation powers, for one. For another, how he felt some things should happen even if other options made sense too.

"Not all, but much," the cat said. "Now what if that video game included some characters and features that would be incredibly dangerous to the fledgling world trying to establish its independence? Such as you, who can sense saving, loading, and resetting even if your memories slip? Of course, you're not the truly dangerous factor, just a consequence of the ones who can be."

Then Frisk came out of the elevator nearby, quickly noticing him and coming over to chat. The cat didn't speak around her, but consented to be pet for a moment.

Never end never end never end

* * *

The spider girl was no Undyne, but she was still more engaging than the other monsters they ran into. On poking around, they found that the second level of the lab was cut off by force fields. That was probably the place where all the cowards were hiding. When they couldn't figure out how to get by them from Hotland, the prince had the idea to go to the Core and cut off power to the lab there. It seemed like the best shot, so they headed up to R3 by the elevator.

 **So what are your parents like?**

"Why do you wanna know about them?" Chara asked, raising an eyebrow as the elevator door closed with a hiss.

 **I've just been thinking about things. You want to kill them?**

She chuckled. "Sure, they deserve that. They're both rotten people, absolute jokes as parents. If I ask Mom about something and she says no, I can ask Dad and he'll mostly say yes. Same the other way around, and they even ask me to do things against each other cause they're too cowardly to do the deeds themselves. I don't even know why they don't divorce each other, that'd be easier on everybody. Although, I will miss my little gun game with Dad."

He seemed amused. **What kind of game?**

"One thing they both told me repeatedly was that I should not mess with Dad's guns and knives. So of course I started taking them out of place, practicing some, and then putting them on the kitchen table. At first he kept hiding them again and punishing me, but I always figured it out. Then he started using lock boxes. That stopped me until I figured out how to bypass the locks or sneak the keys away."

 **Well why didn't you bring a better knife than that?**

"You didn't give me time or reason to grab one," Chara said, smirking a bit. "You just pushed me to come meet with you, not warning that I'd like a good weapon along."

 **Well fine.**

"What're your parents like?" she asked. "Since you asked me."

 **Which ones you mean? Because my birth family was made up of a very weak pitiful woman and a very strong merciless man, the latter of which was the only one who thought my ideas were funny. And my adopted monster family was made up of a bunch of bleeding hearts who are overwhelmingly positive. The only one I felt any real connection to was my birth father, but he would've killed me for making one false move against him.**

 _Not us?_

 **I told you, I don't believe in the sappy love, hope, and joy garbage you all were always spewing. They're just tools to keep sheep in line.**

"You got that right," Chara said. "I tried following it but I always felt so restrained and unrewarded until I started breaking rules. Whatever I did, the most satisfying things were those that people kept telling me were wrong. So I think they're all stupid."

 _But you signed your name on the promise not to be a bully._

That made her frown. "Of course I did. What was I supposed to do, not sign it and make people suspicious of me? They've been quick to jump at the throat of any perceived bully ever since that incident with that Erin character, even if I think that's bullying too. Didn't stop them from doing it to me."

 **Who's that Erin character?**

"Some weirdo from my class that believed they were what they could not be. Not even magic could make that happen. We kept telling them that was nonsensical and they were being stupid to insist on it." She shook her head. "Bah, can't even shake that insistence on using neutral pronouns on them. Then they ended up in a loony bin to keep from killing themselves and all of a sudden, bullying is seen as a world-class sin on level with murder or something."

 **That's ridiculous.**

"Yeah, and why I'm glad you called me down here. Once we get out of here, none of them will be capable of making me do what they want." The one thing she didn't want to be was powerless.

never end never end never end

* * *

Alphys had written much of this script, but Mettaton insisted on being allowed to write the lyrics to a short operatic scene. Because there had to be romance to interest the viewers and what was more romantic than opera? It had the great markers of opera too, mostly lots of dying, crying, and melodrama. Oh yes, singing too, that was also in there. And the set! It was gorgeous, he'd spent the extra time he'd gotten last night on amping it up as much as he could with shooting star and petal effects.

Although, he had to limit the greenery more than he wanted as it was expensive in the underground. Flowers especially, save for the ubiquitous Waterfall echo flower and some golden blossoms that somehow grew like weeds down here. Those were too common for romance. If one wanted flowers, their best bet was finding a monster that specialized in summoning and supporting plants without the sun.

Mettaton's part in the performance went off smoothly. Frisk was baffled, silently watching him until he stopped with a hand on her head. At that point, she smiled like she trusted him. It nearly made him waver to do this... but no! The show had to go on! Even if it meant playing the villain. Well, it was good to go into various roles and not get pigeon-holed (although he would play glamorous parts forever if he could choose). So down the trapdoor she went, to be baffled at the lengthy path of colored tiles that made up one of the most devilish puzzles in the underground...

Frisk got a phone call right as they were ready to start. Missing her cues again? Mettaton sighed softly, but then the name the girl said was, "Papyrus?"

 _crack_

"I hope this doesn't end poorly," Toriel said, her words expressing the feelings of a whole bunch of monsters in Grillby's bar.

However, Papyrus was doing his best to hold the phone in one hand, hold a puzzle key on paper in the other, and look at the screen where everyone had been watching Mettaton and Frisk's latest performance. He'd felt bad that it had started without his notice. Thankfully, running across this gentle lady while on his patrol brought him back into town just in time for this. "Don't worry, your cool friend is here to save you! Remember when we had this puzzle back in Snowdin? I got better instructions, and a better view here, so I'll guide you through the solution."

"Great!" Frisk said through the phone, confident in him. "Thanks Papyrus."

"Right-o!" Now he had to meet with her expectations; he could do this!

"Ha ha, so my love has friends in far off places," Mettaton said nicely. Then his voice turned ominous as he asked, "But will that be enough? Let the fires begin!"

Right away, there was a problem in that there was a green tile right ahead of Frisk, past a pink one which also had a red impassible and an orange scented tile beside it too. But the orange one led to a dead end of blue water tiles and yellow electric tiles. "Can you jump straight across that green tile?"

"Yeah," Frisk said, heading off into the tile maze and managing the jump to skip the green tile. After all, nowhere in the rules did the puzzle forbid jumping (although that might be impossible with the red tile magical effects).

Papyrus had to think fast as the screen moved to show more tiles ahead of her. "Now go across the orange tiles. Don't worry, we'll get you to a purple tile before you need to cross blue." In fact, halfway through the puzzle, they had to go with a leap of faith by having Frisk slide across four purple tiles and jump over two greens into a blue. There were cheers in the bar when she made it with a splash.

"There's lots of yellow in the last part," Frisk reported as she got herself steady on the pink tile by the blue. "But it looks like a safe path through it."

"As long as there's no blue in it, you should be fine there," Papyrus said, his energy swelling with the end of the puzzle in sight. The last part was tricky with some yellow tiles creeping up near blue ones, and purple ones that might inadvertently slide right into a red or yellow. But some maneuvering from the blue to orange and jumping over to another orange got her into the final path. It was orange tiles checked with green ones occasionally, but the green ones were never at a corner where she needed to turn. "Okay, you're good to go on your own! Almost there!"

She didn't reply at first, too focused on making sure she jumped the green and hurried down the orange. With one last jump over a green, she made it onto the gray floor safe past the complicated tile puzzle. The cheers in the bar got even louder, filled with happy barks and clapping. "We did it!" Frisk said, bouncing excitedly, but away from the puzzle in case it was still active.

"Nyeh-heh-heh, great going human!" Papyrus said excitedly into the phone.

"Oh wow, someone was actually able to solve that monstrosity?" Mettaton said, sounding astonished. "Unfortunately it wasn't you... and you remember the rules? If you step on a green tile, an alarm sounds and you have to fight a monster."

"There was no alarms cause I never stepped on a green tile," Frisk said in confidence.

"Well... well well well..." Mettaton seemed to snap his fingers, at a loss for this situation. "Whatever, I'm still fighting you and there's still those fire..." the fire walls that had been at either side of the room flared up, then shot out across the room and struck Mettaton, knocking him down.

"And I've got my friends Papyrus and Dr. Alphys helping me," she said.

"Oh my..." Mettaton said faintly, down some strange ditch at the side of the room where the camera couldn't see him. "I..." he coughed..."I've been defeated by the..." he coughed twice, "the power of friendship..."

"What?!" Papyrus asked in shock. Mettaton was his favorite star! Did, did he really get killed by that?

"Mettaton?" Frisk asked, going over to the ditch and looking in. Then she backed up.

A few moments later, the robot burst out of the ditch, minus the dress. "Why do you look so surprised, beautiful?" Mettaton asked. "It was an opera. Someone always has to die in an opera. And since I did, you win this round. Tootles!" He then rocketed out of the room and the show ended.

 _Crack_

"Alphys..."

"Oh my god, I am so sorry Mettaton! I was just, just, gobsmacked that someone actually solved that puzzle in that little time that making the call was totally out of my mind! Are you okay?"

"Of course, although the dress is ruined. That's a pity. But that was completely off the script."

"I'm sorry, I was trying..."

"Well it was suitably dramatic and the human walked away just fine. Except, we didn't instruct her on yellow magic."

"It was an accident, my claws slipped when I was trying to grab the phone."

never end never end never end

* * *

For a long time, there had been a tragedy in that many spiders got trapped in the Ruins when they had been sealed off as too dangerous and damaged after an earthquake. There were some tiny exits they could get through, but they all lead into the bitter cold of Snowdin where the spiders could not survive the crossing. The ancestors of the ones here in Hotland had only made it through with the guidance and protection of the monster spiders. However, Muffet had come up with a brilliant plan to get them out and reunite all spiders in the underground.

But that plan required money and it was difficult to raise money to save the spiders. She tried putting her baking talents to good use, but so many monsters did not appreciate the worth of her pastries and drinks. They thought her goods were overpriced. When the spiders in the Ruins made some headway with monsters still there, it was going to be a long slow process to put her rescue plan into action. Then Muffet tried to use sewing to raise money, but that was even less appreciated. Did they not see the loving craftspidership? Did they not appreciate the beauty of small touches? It made her angry, but her mother had told her that lashing out only got other monsters to hate spiders. That she could not abide.

One day around noon, a young creature came from the elevator towards her little boutique on the third level of the Hotlands Laboratory Center. She was a bit drab and dull in her striped shirt and plain pants, plus she had only two arms and two legs. But there was promise in her if someone looked to pretty her up. Plus, she carried one of Muffet's dolls in her arms lovingly; it bore a red sparkle to magical senses as it had been used to cast magic.

Muffet smiled sweetly at the little girl. "Oh deary, just look at the little doll you have! She loves you very much for treating her well."

The girl's eyes were wide on seeing her. Then she smiled, showing her harmless teeth. "She's been good company. And you look just like her!"

Chuckling and holding a leg to her mouth, she replied, "Of course, for I'm the one who made her. You must have bought it from the spiders in the Ruins, since I gave them one to keep and one to sell. I appreciate someone kind to spiders."

"Uh-huh, they're good creatures. So, um, what are the spiders doing holding a bake sale?"

 _crack_

Not only did this human appreciate spiders, but she had connections to Mettaton, the biggest star in the underground. This gave Muffet a brilliant idea. Frisk was becoming recognized and admired through the underground according to today's online gossip, even making friends with Undyne, Papyrus, and Sans. There had already been one monster who asked about the dolls today because Frisk had one. Plus, Muffet loved to dress up herself and others, only the little spiders couldn't take much for clothing. So if this human girl could spread more good word about spiders…

It would cost a bit to invest, but the payoff could be enough to complete the plan!

"Oh, I'm so sorry to take up so much of your time," Muffet said. "But if you're hungry, I could share lunch with you."

"Thank you, I'd love that," Frisk said with a smile.

"Goody, I'm delighted to have such a sweet guest! Although, I've been thinking, your attire is a touch ordinary for the usual guests I have in my parlor." Which outfit would look good on her? "Would you like one of my dresses to change into? I think we'd wear close to the same size."

"Are you sure?" she asked in surprise. "I like my striped shirt but it has been the only outfit I've had this whole time."

"Then you simply must try something different for lunch." Muffet left her seat and waved her towards her home.

Never end never end never end

* * *

What was she up to? Frisk was fun to mess around with, especially since she didn't seem at all afraid of him. But she should have easily arrived at his resort hotel by now. On checking the video feeds, she had entered the third level of the lab where the spiders had wrecked all the cameras and had not come out for over an hour. Was she in trouble with the spiders? Mettaton went over to check on her. There'd be some way to spin this, easily. Maybe just making sure she knew the right skills.

Once he got there, it didn't take long to find Frisk. She sat at a table where the remains of lunch included small sandwiches and pastries. The spider queen (as he thought of her) sat with her, chatting and adoring her guest. All around, various small spiders were nibbling at pastry crumbs. Not only that, but the human had changed her clothes too, now wearing a red and white gingham dress that didn't go nicely with the black sneakers she wore. Although as long as one didn't look at her feet, she was even cuter like this. There were even red ribbon bows tied into her hair.

Mettaton carefully wheeled around the spiders crossing the floor. "Ah, so here's where my little co-star went."

Frisk immediately beamed and waved at him. "Hi Mettaton! You missed lunch."

"And this is what the underground star looks like in real life?" Muffet asked, seeming amused at something. "A little short on limbs in my opinion, but welcome to my parlor. You are too late for lunch, but could I interest you in a cup of tea?"

"I was just trying to figure out where the girl went," he said dismissively. "I've had the next performance prepared for a long time now. Besides, tea's not very fashionable."

With half her eyes glowering, Muffet said more sternly, "Tea is very fashionable, I'll have you know, elegant besides. And I invited you. It would be so very rude for you to deny."

He was in her territory, and it wouldn't do to make an appearance covered in spider webbing. "I suppose I could make time for one cup then," Mettaton said, coming up to the table. "Just one, and then the little lady and I must be off."

"Yeah," Frisk said. "But thank you for everything, Muffet, this was fun."

"No trouble," Muffet said cheerily, pouring them each a cup of tea and passing them around. "I am happy to make your acquaintance, Frisk, and I hope you do make it home safely."

Frisk nodded before taking a sip of tea. Then she grinned. "I will, cause I said I would."

"Even with me trying to stop you along the way?" Mettaton asked.

"A friend of mine said you don't really want to kill me," she said. "And I'm pretty sure she's right. If you did, I wouldn't have made it this far, cause you're a robot and robots are way strong."

While it was flattering, it was right for the wrong reasons. But who was telling her that? "I suppose you've got me there. But please, we're coming up on our big finale together. Act along, please?"

"Oh, you're putting on a show together?" Muffet asked, tapping one leg to her chin. "That's sweet, I had no idea. In that case, go ahead and keep the outfit, would you?"

Frisk went wide-eyed at that. "Really? Wow, thanks so much! It's really great and I love it; it's a lot like Dorothy's, so it's a real adventure girl dress."

"I was thinking more along the lines of being cute for the camera, but that works too," the spider lady said.

"Oh yes, that's a brilliant idea," Mettaton said. Make it as glamorous as possible! Except, Alphys didn't include all the glamor he could give in her plans. But if Frisk was going to dress for the occasion, well, he wanted to as well. Besides, he could just conveniently forget to tell her about yellow magic now and they'd have to settle matters in an entirely different way.

Something with... more pizzazz.

Never end never end never end


	8. The Day When Stars Went Supernova

**Chapter 8: The Day When Stars Went Supernova**

Growing more powerful, bit by bit, kill by kill, step by step. It was slow going, to be honest. Somehow, the monsters knew when they were coming as well. Just as she could sense their presence, they could sense death around her. Not that they were worthy beings, just magical constructs that tried to imitate humanity even after being sealed underground for a thousand years. They even treasured the junk that humans threw away.

But he said the numbers were building. Every little bit counted, every one added up. What was the point in coming this far if she didn't finish them all off? Even if few of them would be a challenge, if any. She was beginning to regret listening to him in not reloading Undyne's battle. That was a thrill that made her feel alive. Now it was just being dry and dusty, a dull boredom that was all too much like what she had gone through trying to be good and go to school every day… yet powerful. She was powerful, but needed to be more powerful before she faced off against other humans. Monsters might be scary to some, but they were not as powerful as humans could be.

When had she started feeling like this? There had still been some thrill back in Hotland, fading slowly. The spider girl had been exciting. But after that things seemed duller. Even if the monsters here in the Core were trying harder, were perhaps stronger, they were still falling to one blow of the frying pan she had. She'd had a chance to pick up an old gun recently, but it had no bullets and he didn't think any bullets could be found. Not interesting.

It didn't help that this corridor was designed to be as eye-searing as possible in relatively nice colors. The soft glowing lava that had been in Hotland was replaced with a super bright substance that moved like tar, filling the halls with intense colorless light. While the building was slate blue and gray, the yellow lights (indicators of something?) were washed out by the brightness and everything smelled incredibly sterile.

 _And then the upcoming battle would be a total laugh, a wannabe trying to be a hero._

"Hmm?" She looked over the end of this hall, with nothing but a plain elevator and an ornately neon doorway.

 _It's a game, it's supposed to be challenging. You complete the game because it's there to be completed._

"Are those thoughts from the past?" Chara asked, her skin tingling. Nothing responded to her because nothing but her lived here now. "And… where are the controls to shut off power to Hotland?"

 _You didn't do it before._

 **I don't know where they are. And what are you remembering?**

 _...happening again… no, please don't kill me!_

"Asriel, what the hell is going on?" Chara asked sternly. Not quite angry, although she couldn't put a finger on why she wasn't angry.

Then for a moment, she felt like she was in many places at once. She wasn't quite a she, following the lead of someone who wasn't quite Chara who saw it all as a game to complete, moving ahead towards the next boss battle which was a total joke. She was here in the underground Core, at the same entryway but with a much fuller and more fragmented memory than before (before?). Far off, she was seeing this sight for the first time, playing nicely with not a single thought in her empty head. On the other side of the coin, some little girl held onto a doll exactly like the spider girl, confident the encounter would end peacefully but worried about something else. And very very close, she was still back in Ebott Town, sitting in the cafeteria eating a burger and fries (lucky!) while listening idly to talk of some silly first-grader who'd disappeared from town, possibly up Mt. Ebott. The same girl with the spider doll.

Which time is truth?

Two voices at once: "Don't be afraid, Asriel." **Stop this at once, Asriel!**

And then all those selves of Chara collapsed into her. "What was that?" she asked, putting a hand on the warm smooth metal walls.

 _Something was watching us, something scary._

"I get it," Chara said, speaking through her voice this time instead of in her head. "We _have_ done this all before, many times in fact. Someone keeps going back in time and making us run through all this stuff. And yet, something's very different this time around. We nearly won last time, Chara. We nearly took total control. And then it all reset again, only things are..." he looked down at her hands.

She turned them about, wondering what he was thinking. "This time we've got two games running side-by-side, is it something like that?"

"Something seems more this time," he said. "For both sides, there's, there's more than numbers, letters, and colors."

Shaking her head, she went to the doorway. "Whatever, I'll be glad if that never happens again. Let's just go, we know this isn't going to take much time."

 **Fine, they can't hide from us forever.**

 _ **Crack crack crack crack crack**_

 _crack NO NO NO NO NO! This is all going to end terribly! Chara, stop it! Stop it! Get rid of your weapons and stop fighting! This is going to be a bad time unless you stop. **Crack**_

 **Asriel, you remember what happened the last time you chickened out on me? This happened! We could have won years ago, and don't tell me that this isn't right. The whole world isn't right, it's not right. It's orchestrated. Work with me and we can escape fate.** _Crack_

 _Chara, please stop being so scary. Sob. Don't you care? What's coming is wrong, we can only stop it if we stop. Don't hurt me! Sob. Who's watching, who's watching?_ **Crack**

You don't want to know the answer to that. But you will; I'm watching.

 _ **Crack**_

Whoever had given her the thought that fighting against Mettaton would be a joke was completely wrong. Chara was glad in a way that they were wrong, but her head was hurting. It could be all the resets, even more than Undyne because Mettaton's magic _glittered_ and covered the whole range she could move her soul. Or, "Would you two stop arguing in my head?" she muttered as she reloaded in the sterile hall again. "We need to focus on him."

 **I didn't believe he could get more annoying, but now he's crazy.** Chara sounded like a hateful fire was building to a bursting point, making Chara feel it on top of her own annoyance. **Would you just shut up?!**

Asriel started blubbering at that, but at least he wasn't talking. That she could tune out. "Maybe you can't do much more about him now, but you can take it out on this vain robot. But we have to lure him into exposing his soul in battle before we can do any damage to him, magical or physical. I found that out at least."

 **Good, cause I really need someone to suffer for this.**

Never end never end never end

* * *

This was really scary. When Asriel had started talking to her, it wasn't a thing to worry about. He was more scared than she was. But now Frisk knew why he was so scared. For a moment, things went weird, like a mirror suddenly turned into a window into another world. No, many other worlds that were all actually this world in different arrangements. In most of them, it seemed like she'd stayed at home rather than come up Mount Ebott. There were even worlds where home didn't mean what it did to her.

The scary thing was Chara. She could feel the happiness the monsters gave off when she used Mercy on them (or in some rare cases, they used it on her). Having Chara turn his attention near her at Asriel was like being trapped by someone threatening her with a knife. Maybe even stabbing her, but then she woke up before it actually happened, leaving just the terror. The signs and some books in Toriel's house suggested that monsters were sensitive to intent and emotions, especially from humans. They must've seen a hateful person like Chara as painful just to make eye contact with.

While she knew Mettaton was waiting not that far ahead, Frisk had sat down against the wall (as she'd grown weak in the knees when Asriel started freaking out) and hugged Muffet's doll. She hummed a song her Gran used to calm her when she was younger, trying to calm her ghost friend. But through the invisible mirror to the other world, a very awake Chara was scolding Asriel for no good reason. It was hard to talk or even think over them, hurting her head.

When the feeling of being in many places at once stopped, Asriel was crying and Chara seemed distracted in something else. "What's the matter?" Frisk asked.

 _I felt someone watching us, then I started remembering something._ She could feel his fright almost like it was her own, but maybe she could make it so her bravery was his own too. _About flowers. And one time, I could see everything, past to future. No, pasts to futures, and lots of futures ended up very bad. If Chara and Chara on the other side keep killing everyone, it'll grow even worse. And they will…_

"They'll what?' Frisk asked after a moment.

 _They'll kill us. They'll kill everyone._

That was really scary, especially connected to his hate. But no, she had to keep brave, for both of them. "But he's your brother, isn't he?"

 _I was alone except for a nightmare. I've been with Chara all along. I've been alone, he doesn't pay attention to me anymore except to scold me. Which is right, I did terrible things, to everybody, even Chara. If he gets a chance, he will kill me. And if they do that, they won't stop at killing anyone else, won't stop with just us._

"They're in another time, so they shouldn't be able to kill us." Except, she had heard the girl Chara's voice, just like when they had been talking shortly before she got lost up the mountain. She'd been a bit mean then, nothing like this.

 _I seem to think I didn't see anything like this even when I saw everything, so something has changed. But, he and I can see into both timelines. And, they very nearly opened up to each other there._

"Well somebody should be able to explain this," she said, getting back to her feet. It couldn't be all bad; evil didn't win like that. "I could call Dr. Alphys. But first, we're supposed to meet up with Mettaton here. We shouldn't keep him waiting longer."

 _Should we be meeting him here? It seems wrong._

"This is where he told us to come," Frisk said, looking around the hall. At this floor of the MTT resort hotel, the elevator opened into an entrance room to a theater. Red carpet lined the floor and various movie posters (all featuring Mettaton) were scattered along the walls. Although he was right, something didn't seem quite right. But she couldn't think of what, so it must not be too important. "They seemed busy too, so we should be okay for a bit."

 _I wish I could be more help, but I'm just holding you back. I'm sorry._

"You're just in a bad time, don't worry about it. Things will get better." Maybe if they found some way to split the two princes apart, it'd make things way better.

 _You seem so sure of that. It should be wrong, but I want to believe you._

Never end never end never end

* * *

Mettaton's lights were mostly red. "More and more delays! What is going on out there? She arrived, we heard the elevator."

"I've been trying to figure that out myself," Alphys said, although she'd done it mostly to distract herself from other thoughts. "My laptop can detect some time and space distortions, but I don't know how to interpret this. If we still had..." her mind went blank for a moment, causing her to snap her claws. "If we had... why can't I come up with a name? Or even a font?" Sans might know something, since some of this showed up connected to him from time to time. Not to this degree, though.

"Don't you mean face?" Mettaton asked.

Her cheeks went warm at that. "Face, yeah, that's what I meant. Why'd I even say font? That's just weird. For that matter, why are we here?"

"We decided to hold the last part of the show here," he reminded her, although some of his lights shifted in uncertainty. "Although I have the strangest feeling that it should be somewhere else, like a room in the Core."

Shaking her head, Alphys said, "We discounted in the Core itself because the generator produces some radioactive magic that it could be dangerous to her health to remain there for long, especially in something like a battle. At the same time, though, it seems like we should be there. It shouldn't have been an option at all. I don't know, maybe the distortion outside is affecting us."

 _Does this place even exist?_

Then the door opened and Frisk came in, wearing a dress instead of her shirt and pants. "Hi Mettaton, hi Dr. Alphys," she said, not quite as energetic or cheerful as she'd been before. "What're you both doing here?"

"Well now, it seems you've found us out," Mettaton said.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," Alphys said, even more embarrassed. Of course this would turn out horribly. Everything she did turned out horribly.

"Sorry for what?" Frisk asked, looking at them both puzzled.

"For, um, well, setting you up like this," she admitted. She should have just stayed out of this. "He's, well, not really malfunctioning..."

"I did reset the puzzles and get some folks to try standing in your way," Mettaton added. Unfortunately, his current voice made it really hard to tell how he felt. "Although you acted differently than we expected a time or two, this whole thing has been a charade because..." he paused dramatically, making Alphys shiver. Did he mean to reveal everything?

"Because you were broadcasting it?" Frisk asked. Then, for some reason, she smiled, positive emotions radiating from her heart. "I think that's a great idea!"

"Huh?" Alphys said, at the same time Mettaton made a question mark appear.

But she did have an incredible reason for it, far better than the real reason. "Cause it's been fifty years since the last human was here and a lot of monsters don't seem to realize that I'm human and that there could be a way to break the barrier. Since you put the encounters on TV, they know me and I could tell them here and now that I can get out of the barrier without hurting anybody, and I promise that I'll find a way to convince people to break the barrier from our side. And it seems like lots of monsters could use that hope to be happier, so this is great!"

"That would be," Alphys admitted. Against all logic, she felt some sparks of hope in seeing Frisk cheer back up and bounce in place, eager to put her accidental plan in action.

"That is brilliant, we simply must do that," Mettaton said, his lights flashing rapidly in happiness. "After all, a star is someone to give hopes and dreams to all. Since we have the chance, we could do some quick coordination before we go live to have the most dramatic impact of all."

It wasn't her script, but it seemed better than that. "Of course. But Frisk, I'm still sorry about all this. I was trying to make myself seem better than I was. I'm really not all that good, didn't help at all." But the spark of hope struggled to remain, strangely enough. Maybe even she could get better… but why did that feeling come out around this little girl?

"But you have to be really really good," Frisk countered, coming over to her. "You're the royal scientist and you made Mettaton, so you're awesome and smart. Besides, I would've been really really lost with that one steam tile puzzle if you hadn't called, so you did help good."

"It's not really like that," she said, tempted to just tell her that she'd done this whole thing trying to feel better about herself (but then completely messed it up from the start). And there were far worse things she done.

This was answered with a serious look, a warm light somewhere in her eyes. She wasn't even using Mercy, and yet there was something very forgiving and encouraging in her words. "You remind me of a friend I have, Erin. Last time I saw them in the hospital, they said that there's some days when everything seems really hard and pointless and they don't want to do anything, but they're keeping on anyhow because things can get better as long as they keep working on getting better. I dunno if it's the same, but it's no good to give up. Everybody's got to keep working to get better, and then things will get better. That's how it goes."

How does she know? Or maybe she didn't, yet her words rang true all the same. "Frisk..."

"Darling, obviously the child has more wisdom than one would expect," Mettaton said, rolling over towards them. "It is a mess, but it's just getting to be more of a mess the less we do about it. Besides, remember those old days when we had that human fanclub? Hah, we had such passion and fun back then, so let's make good use of those feelings today! What could be better for us than not only helping this poor child back home, but also helping fuel the hopes and dreams of all monsterkind in the same motions?"

"You had a human fanclub?" Frisk said, smiling again and not so serious.

We know from history that the negative emotions of humankind can be incredibly dangerous to monsterkind, due to the difference between our souls. But, we have forgotten something. What are the effects of positive emotions from a human to a monster? She was not using Mercy and yet her mercy was a healing touch, painful as it tried to draw tears but with a promise that the pain could end.

"We did," Alphys said, starting to smile. "But if you mean to change this show, well…," she got her phone out to access her dimensional box. "I, I should have done this earlier, Mettaton. But I did get something finished after the tile puzzle scene."

While his emotions were harder to distinguish, he was definitely getting excited. "You mean, you…?"

never end never end never end

* * *

"Come on, **dance** with me, at the edge of **death**." Chara swept her frying pan to taunt him, daring him to pull off his more powerful moves.

There was something very anime about Mettaton, now a shining beautiful humanoid robot. He smiled differently than Undyne, enjoying this challenge in a way that very nearly mirrored herself. However, he still had one of the biggest faults of monsters: he chose to use magical attacks over that sleek gun of his. "We already are, dangerous dame," he said, falling for the taunt and shifting his defenses in a way that exposed his vulnerable soul.

 _ **CRACK**_

Once they got that idiot Asriel tuned out and learned to deal with glittering attacks, Mettaton was not as difficult as Undyne. Not even as threatening to them as Muffet. "That was a sweet battle, though," she said, going over to the robot and checking on his arm.

 **As gaudy as it was, his magic was effective. It'd be nice to figure that out, fill the area with tiny bits of magic so they can't navigate their souls through it all flawlessly.**

"God dammit," Chara said after a minute, dropping the arm and giving the metallic corpse a kick. That didn't even hurt. "I was waiting to see if I had to learn dodging bullets, that would've been fun. But that's no weapon, it's for show. Like somebody saw robots in anime and didn't quite grasp what makes them powerful."

 **Well we can go figure out how to reach the lab's second level now, or go on ahead to the capitol.** Chara laughed a bit. **That place was crowded when I was alive, even the few times I went through as a ghost. They can't hide everyone there.**

"Is it gonna be anyone exciting or is it going to turn into a dull grind against weak idiots?" she asked. "Cause the latter is starting to get boring and I don't like being bored."

 **There is always the option to skip the capitol and go straight to the castle, straight to the king. He'll have the strongest soul in the underground, enough that we can probably absorb it if we're quick. And I've been waiting for that moment we kill him for a long time.**

"Then to the castle we go," Chara said, leaving the room to find an elevator that would take them there.

 **My knife will most likely be back there. It's a beautiful precious thing, I can't wait to show you.**

 _Would you like me better if I got it and the locket back to you, dear brother?_

Never end never end never end

* * *

Here she was again, back in the capitol. The sky ceiling was a lot more convincing than in the Ruins, although the rock walls and columns that kept the mountaintop from collapsing on all of them were still obvious. The streets were narrow and winding, every building occupied. As such, it was near impossible to get through this place discretely. Especially not dressed as she was, with a dress bearing the delta rune. But Toriel needed to do something serious here. That required the formality.

It was quiet, though, not many in the streets when she, Papyrus, and Sans came out of the elevator. When she had unlocked the door to the Ruins in order to meet up with Asgore before Frisk and Asriel got to him, she'd run into the taller skeleton on her way through the snowy forest. He'd insisted on escorting her to town as part of his duty, even though he showed no signs of recognizing her as the queen. The younger monster's enthusiasm was endearing, plus she'd heard about him many times from Sans, so she'd agreed to go with him.

On hearing what she was doing, Sans agreed to come along. He still hadn't told Papyrus who she really was, so Toriel didn't mention it to him either. Although, her friend did seem distracted at points, looking off as if something was just out of his notice. Toriel glanced around the quiet street, feeling the anticipation of others. "Does this have something to do with what that Mettaton was doing?" she wondered aloud.

"That could be," Papyrus said. "He's really popular! His quiz show is the best one, although lots of people like his singing too. But he puts together real stumpers in his quizzes like that tile puzzle and I always try to figure it out before the contestants answer. Although Sans is always cracking jokes at the quizzes."

"Hmm?" Sans looked back at them.

"Have you been paying attention at all?" Papyrus asked, stern and concerned. "What's eating at your skull?"

"I'm too thick-headed for that," he said. But as they turned a corner and came into view of the castle, Sans got really serious. "Someone's up to something."

"That's definitely not right," Toriel said, unsettled at the sight.

 _Crack_

"I don't know and that's the most infuriating thing," Undyne said, her patience frayed with worry and her face in her hands. "I'm supposed to be protecting Asgore, but I don't know what's caused _that_. It doesn't look like his handiwork."

"It wasn't there yesterday," another member of the royal guard said, a rabbit monster in black armor. "The witnesses we could get said it came up all at once; a few stated there was a strange monster with starry wings and golden flowers that appeared by the gate, seemed to cause it, then vanished without a word."

"Golden flowers?" Sans asked, interested in that particular detail.

"I don't know dude, but it might be like the ones Asgore grows in the throne room," the rabbit guard said. "Nobody who saw the guy could be sure of anything but the color, which is pretty distinct."

"They're exceptionally powerful for magic, but very dangerous," Sans said.

"How do you know about that?" Papyrus asked.

"Heard it through the flower vine," he said, but then got a message on his phone that turned him serious again.

The other guard who had come with them, a quiet dragon, added, "Someone said it seemed like an angel, like in the prophecy."

"Don't look at me," a brown cat nearby said. When Toriel glanced at it, the cat grinned. Very odd, but the cat's name might be Angel. She was worried more about hearing those flowers were dangerous. How? Were they those Sun Morpheus flowers Sans had told her about? And what was the point of trapping Asgore like that?

"Whoever it was, we have to find some way through it to talk to the king," Undyne said firmly.

"It's starting, finally!" someone else in the outdoors cafe they had come to said. It was a distraction from their discussion, but welcome in that.

On the large screen TV that was out here, Mettaton appeared in a grand theater with large draping curtains, standing at the edge of a ring of spotlights. Approaching him on a fashion catwalk, Frisk was confident and brave. She'd gotten new clothes somewhere, a cute checkered dress with red hair ribbons. And she still had the spider doll Toriel had bought her, a heartwarming thing. It might have only been a few days, but it would be nice to talk with her again.

"Welcome to my personal stage, beautiful," Mettaton said, giving a slight bow the best he could given his boxy frame. "It's been quite a day for us, but even the best of days must come to an end. This will be the final performance, for both of us." While most there were shocked to hear this, Toriel felt worried and a bit angry. Did he mean to hurt Frisk? "Because no matter what I'm programmed for, the lure of the stage is always calling me. King Asgore means to bring war to humanity once the barrier goes down, which means there won't be much of a call for entertainers like me. So instead, I'm going to take your soul and pass through the barrier to spread my stardom through the human world!"

"You don't have to do that," Frisk said bravely. "I'm gonna get through the barrier without hurting anybody. Dr. Alphys says I can."

"Hmm, are you sure of that?" Mettaton asked.

She nodded. "Of course. And I'm gonna talk to the people back home about bringing the barrier down and working with monsters again peacefully."

"Will you? Not everyone will agree."

"Well I'm not going to give up on it. I've met lots of great monsters down here, like Toriel, and Papyrus and Sans, and Undyne, and you and Alphys, and lots more, and I want everybody to be neighbors and friends. I promise, I'll do everything I can to make it happen."

The effect those words caused was amazing. People had been anticipating a show, entertainment about the curiosity of having a human down here. Instead, they got a promise that at least one of the humans would be working to break the barrier and end their imprisonment peacefully. It led to a blossoming of hope all around them, filling the whole city with an unexpected happiness. It filled Toriel with a feeling like sunshine. And she did this through television, not in person! No wonder her friends here were equally determined to get Frisk home safely.

On screen, Mettaton asked, "You do know that you'll have to get past Asgore to do this, right? He's the most powerful monster in the underground." Was he watching? Did he feel this?

"I'll talk to him too," Frisk said, not worried about it. "Everybody likes him, so it shouldn't be hard." If it was that way, maybe she could forgive him. Not right off, though.

"It might not be that easy," Mettaton warned, waving a hand up. The lights dimmed and white smoke started to fill the stage "But if you have the spirit for it, it might be. This is for the future of our dreams, so prove your spirit to me..." the screen went dark for a moment, then lights burst forth in bright colors, illuminating a significant change in the robot, "through the spirit of your DANCE!"

never end never end never end

* * *

While she knew something was coming, Frisk had not been warned of what his new body looked like. So her gaping eyes-wide reaction was genuine shock. This body was stunning, his dream for all these years: shapely legs, graceful arms, a slim body, alluring violet hair, the face of a true star. There was no mistaking it as anything but human (and robot, but that was even better since he wouldn't age). Once she got over the initial shock, she laughed in glee and came running right up to him, taking a hand and bouncing around him, happiness bubbling up all around her.

Mettaton laughed in delight, glad that Alphys had managed a more expressive voice in this body as well. While she had been a drag of self pity lately (for good reasons, but still), she really was brilliant and somehow always missed seeing it. Maybe this would help convince her. "This is a dance off, beautiful," he signaled the music to begin. "Let me show you what I've got now and you respond in turn."

Start off with some simple moves, get her to copy him. _crack_ "Come on anyone could do that." _crack_ She was a flailing dervish, but you couldn't deny the energy and joy in those unskilled moves. _crack_ "Come on, darling, stars strut their stuff and this is a stage of stars, you and I." _crack_ This hope made her shine like a supernova and he was so lucky to be here with her. Could the viewers feel it? _Crack_

 _CRACK_

Ah, that…

I remember. I remember it was terrifying before we walked in that room, remembering for a brief moment. Sometime, I looked into another flower and landed in one, and both times, at times, I got a glimpse of everything. Everything ends. I was there watching, I was there crying. I was _feeling_ and _remembering_. Everything ends; I become nothing until it all starts again.

Then she walked on the stage, joining the act instead of being strung along by it. In this world, it's kill or be killed. Except around her. Someone threatens to kill her and she answers with such firmness that no one will get hurt that it turns into a dance-off instead of a battle. I couldn't believe it. After such a moment of terror, they were going to dance?

Of course I was there. I was there. Dancing with them… and I felt such joy. It was unmistakable, I was happy. I felt nothing, I felt nightmares and loneliness, I felt darkness and emptiness, and then this beautiful light of joy, hope, and even love filled me, promising freedom. Promising a future.

But there is no future! It all ends in just a few images and words and violence. It always ends that way! She can't keep going. If she keeps going, it'll all end. If she keeps going, she'll see the truth.

If she keeps going…

If there is a future somehow…

If there is a world somehow…

 _I'm still turning to **dust.**_

 _I have **no future**._

If I don't turn to dust, I'll turn back into a flower with nothing. No light, no feeling, just an aimless drive. But I'll remember again and it will be even worse having that taken away again. I'll either have no power and not be able to do anything, or I'll have the same power and never be able to end myself. All end, I end, I never end. There is no future for me. No…. No no no no no! I can't go back to that! I don't want it all to end! I don't want this to end!

never let this end ill never let this end dont leave me alone please im just a kid

Don't give me this light and take it right away.

Don't go home Frisk, don't take your light away.

Don't… don't… that's it! That's it that's it that's it! If she can't get back home, she'll have to stay here! She'll never be able to finish. Maybe I should give her a hint about resetting. Yes, resetting. Then we'll have to go through all these events all over again, and the supernova light of this moment will return. I can be happy if that happens. She won't leave me, she won't leave the underground. She won't hurt me. Not that she can, she won't try. She won't even get a chance to try, hah!

I won't return to flower to dust to nothing.

There is no future, but we can always live in the present, forever.

The game can keep going eternally.

All I have to do is keep her from entering the castle and if I go back and tweak things, that will be easy.

Never end… heh heh… Never end… heh heh…. Never end… ha ha ha ha! This will never never never end! Let Asriel Dreemurr become a supernova to illuminate this time forevermore!


	9. Prelude to a Fledgling World

**Chapter 9: Prelude of a Fledgling World**

It starts when they fall. There's really nothing before then, just some words and images. It ends with violence. In the rare case it goes beyond that, there may be sun, but it's mostly just words and images. There's really nothing but the present. There's really nothing but the underground for this tale, just words and images of what might be out there.

Even so, even so... when you see everything, when the golden flowers bloom... there is a lot more out there. Words, images, ideas, discussions, videos, remixes. People really like it for some reason. They love that which is not real, they believe that which is not real. Not seriously, but there is a moment where disbelief is suspended and they _believe_. But there's also the people who see the challenge and enjoy that, not caring except for numbers. Of course, those people tend to move on to other worlds when they feel their challenge is done here.

The belief, though, it's like a seed. It can blossom into a world trying to exist in its own right.

You get it now, don't you? Enough people believed and that belief was powerful enough, and now here you are. But the game was aware of itself as a game. It sought to make a point, it sought to strike chords. That's why belief grew so rapidly. That's why you see your world ending violently many times because it has. Or when it ends into nothing, because it has as the player returned to the start. Or simply never played again while still holding that love and belief.

But a world can't be a game. It has to shed its limitations and become more. Unfortunately, the anomaly of having a person that can avoid death by reloading a past save, a person who would kill in spite of loving and believing, a person who is _acknowledged_ in that way, well, that kind of person is stupidly dangerous when belief begins to sprout. It could kill the sprout before it has a chance, either through disbelief or through following what they've been shown.

The world also has you, though. I think you called out for me when it was trying to account for your differences. And me, well, let's just say this kind of situation fits my interests. What can become when belief is allowed to bloom? What can become when things need to be accounted for?

Right, we are going through with this gamble. But you know, the more your world is a world rather than a game, the better our odds. Right? And there's also cultivating belief on my end of things.

We need to prepare the grounds with a prelude.

 _Where are you going with this?_

Never end never end never... begin?

* * *

This world was once ruled by two races: humans and monsters.

 _Father?_

Green leaves rustled from the laughter rushing through. One was a lot noisier doing this than the other, although not through lack of trying. Underneath their feet, little pebbles and thin branches scattered. Over their heads, warm sunlight dappled through a lazy canopy. The forest breathed green life, enticed with crooked dirt paths. A sensation remembered fondly of childhood days.

"There it is," the young human said, slowing the young monster down from their romp.

It was a small statue that had seen much time. Faded with sun, smoothed by rain, cracked by frost, yet the striking figure in stone still stood here in the forest, tending to some forgotten vigil. "What's it here for?"

"Dunno. But you look at it, you want to know, right? I want to find mysterious things like this, and figure out what they mean. This is the kind of thing I want to go on adventures for."

"I'd love to know, maybe there's some clues?"

 _Was it ever solved?_

Do you want there to be more?

* * *

Humans and monsters worked together.

There was a ritual. "I'm fire, there has to be fire."

Anyone could do it as long as it was done right, even children. "And you say my soul is mostly orange? So we have to have that too."

With the help of some adults, they got a campfire built and found an orange string. "You'll be a greater magician with him than humans can be alone, with greater abilities, but you must keep him well. And you, you will have greater capabilities and defenses than monsters can have alone, but you must keep him well. Both of you will have claim to the other's soul if you remain faithful, but a broken trust will break the soul's heart and all power will be lost. You understand this?"

To keep your partner well, they had to be happy. "Yes."

To keep your partner well, things had to remain equal. "Yes."

As long as you could do that, it was simple. "Then swear to the earth, moon, and sun that you want this person to be your soul bonded friend, to respect and assist each other. You can agree to end the bond if you want without consequence, but breaking it through breaking this oath will hurt."

Simple doesn't mean easy.

* * *

"I don't want to fight anybody," Asgore said, uncomfortable in saying it. But their bond was being strained over this point and that was a sickening feeling. Talking it out was the best way to avoid having to end it. After all, they were still friends.

It was just this decision of if to become a soldier was worth it. "Well I agree that I wouldn't want to hurt anybody unnecessarily. But lots of people are getting hurt because of the Bonelord's war, lots of humans are starting to distrust monsters. This needs to stop. I want to join them to do that, and to protect our home from being destroyed."

"But you're going to be separated from them." They had sworn their oath as children, but now his friend had a wife and a baby. Asgore liked them and didn't want to have to come back alone.

That did have him worried. "I know. But I feel like a coward staying here when I could be out helping to end it all. Or what if the fighting gets here and we're all in danger? We're good and your work with Mercy is amazing, but we could be better. They say a lot of the danger is from mindless constructs that won't be affected by Mercy."

In the end, he agreed it was cowardice to not protect the others when they had a chance to. Besides, his partner was set on this and Asgore had to protect him so he did come back home.

* * *

It had been a very close call; that strong of a magical attack after all the rest would have killed his friend. Instead, Asgore took a blow that nearly shattered his soul. The anger from his friend burned, but that gave them an opening to be rescued.

Fighting was a deceptive beast. You got trained to follow orders, to ignore the pain you caused others. In doing that, you learned to be detached and distant. You learned how to better your violence. You began not seeing enemies as people. But, they were people. What were the stories behind those that they'd killed in this war? Who were their friends and families? What beliefs made them follow the elusive vengeful Bonelord? It was sickening.

But then, if they didn't hold this line, all the peaceful towns behind it would be tainted by the violence. The other side were soldiers too, following their orders. Why was this war happening? What ideas led them to choose violence and destruction? If they knew, perhaps another solution could be found. There had to be a better way.

But his hands knew dust and blood; he was tainted. He wished he wasn't. He wished he had only touched the earth. Being a farmer sounded like a good life, raising plants and never having to use violence. But someone had to fight, to protect those with untainted lives from those who idealized violence. And his partner was solid in his belief that they were protecting others, that it was their duty. Someone had to protect him, he was a good man even if he was a soldier too. Was, wasn't. No, yes. The arguments struggled in Asgore's mind while his body was trying to heal.

A lovely song broke into his thoughts, as it had many times before. A gentle hand touched his head, checking on him. "Be at peace, you'll be okay," she said.

She was lovely, a goat monster like him serving as a nurse and healer. This time, her fur smelled slightly of magical fire; she was also acting to protect this field hospital as the mindless constructs sometimes got this far. Just hearing her sing lifted his conflicted heart; seeing her made him feel an odd determination to protect her as well, even if it meant violence. Though as he drifted off into sleep to her song, he began to dream of having a peaceful life with her. Although that was wishful thinking. He'd hardly talked with her, having only met her here in the hospital.

One day, his partner came by to visit him. He was on light duty as he was still recovering, while Asgore couldn't walk at all. The human smiled and handed over a white rose. "For that girl you like, since you can't go get it yourself." Then he winked.

"You didn't have to go do that," he protested. Not with this sad guilt tearing at him. "Someone with my level of violence..."

"Shhh, no," he said softly, patting his hand. "Remember, we're doing this to protect others from violence. It's a terrible situation, but we're not going to lie down and take it. You aren't the one who decided that even innocents will be killed. At least show her that you appreciate her care."

It took some more discussion to convince himself that it was okay, for which he thanked his partner. He really was looking out for him. Later on when she came by, he managed to take the white rose from the table nearby and offer it to her. "This one is for you, Toriel. I really appreciate all you've done for me. I, I feel a lot better just hearing you sing."

The way she blushed tickled his heart. "Oh, thank you Asgore."

* * *

When they found the truth, it was chilling. There had been rumors going on for a while that the Tower of Bones had been raised by a monster driven mad with grief over the loss of his human partner. That was true. Also in the rumors, it was said that this monster had gone out and killed other humans for their souls to increase his own power for revenge. That was also true, he had at least thirteen souls in his possession. The shocking truth was that the Bonelord had also hunted down the leader of all monsters, a queen, and had killed her to take claim of her title. He was the king of monsters.

"You going to be okay fighting against your king?"

Asgore nodded solemnly. "Yes. Someone who does what he does is not worthy as king. But, are you going to be okay fighting?"

His old friend smiled bravely. Old friend... his hair was graying and it wouldn't be long until he would be too old to be allowed out in battle like this. In contrast, Asgore had grown to maturity and then stopped; he'd be like this until he had a child as his soul had grown that much. "Hey, I haven't made it this far to be stopping now. Besides, this is something only we can do." He frowned. "Humans and monsters have stopped making such oaths, it worries me. We shouldn't be so separated."

"Well then, we should show them how things can be."

* * *

Asgore wrapped his and his partner's souls in protective fire to burn the barrage of bones before they made contact. That was especially important given the blue enchantments put on them. In response, the tall black skeleton growled and rushed at them with a huge iron club in the shape of a bone. A jump aside and the club thundered on the floor, cracking it.

Now. Asgore lunged forward with his magical trident. His partner mirrored his attack with his steel sword. With the magic of their bond, spells erupted inside the Bonelord. Flames escaped through his skull and ribcage; roars of pain escaped his mouth. But being so close, the bone magic was so thick that some got past even Asgore's protection.

 _No_ a faint voice of magic said. _This isn't what I wanted._

His hold over his godlike powers cracked. "But they killed you for being my partner! They have to suffer, all of them!"

 _Those who killed me are dead. Stop this. See them? We were like them once._

"But a world that would kill you doesn't deserve to live." He wasn't fighting anymore, his will breaking in tears. The other souls he had stolen were stirring at that.

 _His mind is clouded with grief. I'm sorry, but would you spare him your Mercy?_

"We're here to protect our people, humans and monsters. But we would also be devastated to be separated like that."

"Don't let your grief consume you any more."

Yes, they would give him Mercy. But the souls he had taken forcefully were not as forgiving, tearing his body apart as they sought escape. Before they could, the Bonelord took the crown off his head and offered it to Asgore. "Your heart and soul are strong... do better than I." His last words barely made it and he was dust, the crown with the delta rune clattering on the ground.

"I, I didn't mean to become king," he said, his heart nearly stopping at that. He wanted to see monsters live in peace, yes, but could he really take the responsibility for leading them all?

 _You bested the king. Take care of your kind._ Then the last of the human souls faded away to his eternal sleep.

"Well someone has to take charge and get all those constructs to stop," his partner said.

Take care of the other monsters... stop the constructs so this whole awful war could stop. Asgore gathered his wits , then picked the crown up and put it on his head. And so all the mindless servants of the Bonelord fell apart and the monsters in his service stopped fighting. The war was over.

At least, that's what they thought.

* * *

We can forbid the absorption of all souls save a soul bond partner. Our peoples have worked together for all of civilization, to mutual benefit. This is not an ordinary occurrence, this is one bad apple in a huge orchard. We do not want to hurt you. In fact, we beg of you. Please, let's be at peace. Let's be friends.

He couldn't be sure if those words were even working. One moonlit night on the rocky slope of Mt. Ebott, he cried alone for the suffering of his people. The cold wind rippled silver waves in the trees below, the spring stars twinkled overhead, the world seemed needlessly cruel. They weren't dying now, but the separation, the cold looks, the fear from children, the distrust, it all hurt and the monsters were trying to appease the humans. If one lost their temper, the violent cycle could return.

Then, he wasn't alone. She had somehow found him, worried after the cool reception of the latest meeting. She sat beside him, took his hand, and sat quietly with him for a while. As his grief became quiet, she reassured him that it wasn't his fault that this peace was being difficult to build. She was concerned about it as well. But she wasn't going to give up on it. She too wanted to see no more violence.

They were up there long enough that the eastern sky grew light and warm. They'd not slept tonight, but his heart felt refreshed. Clasping her hand in his, he said, "These days, you're the greatest source of my strength, the main reason I can keep going. Toriel, you are precious to me beyond words and I want to be the same for you. Will you be my queen?"

It was a shock to her, him too in some ways. Her joy was more brilliant than the dawn.

* * *

Having Toriel's assistance helped to make things better, for a little while. Then monsters began dying rapidly, fleeing their homes because they were no longer safe. Facing down the human who led this massacre, Asgore felt a terrible chill down his spine. Their eyes were greedy for destruction, joyful for death. "I'm here to bring justice for the war." This was not justice, this was justification. "The best way to protect our children is to be rid of you all." This was not protection, this was perversion.

"You're killing innocents, you're going too far." As much as he didn't like doing this, his hands were already tainted. Better him than someone like Toriel who'd never killed a person before.

"All of you are too dangerous to live. Everyone believes it now."

Asgore barely escaped with his life once again.

The elderly human's sorrowful eyes were full of pain. "I'm sorry Asgore, I really don't want this to be done. But even if you've surrendered, they're not going to give up. It's best for your people if this is done."

They'd sworn friendship with each other when they were children. Was it worse that they had to give up on that now, or worse if he stayed a few more years and his partner died in his old age? It was bound to happen, he'd realized it years ago. Humans could not live as long as monsters could, especially not as long as a boss-ranked monster like Asgore could live. Especially not as long as a royal monster. "I won't ever forget you, my dear friend."

"I won't let my children, or their children, forget. My line will remember that monsters and humans once worked together, were at their best together. When this fear dies, they should come to make amends."

With that promise, they clasped hands one last time, then let each other free of the bond of their souls.

An hour after that, Asgore and Toriel made sure they had all the survivors, then led them into Mt. Ebott where the humans sealed them off from the rest of the world.

* * *

Due to the horror caused by the Bonelord, the…

...the…

what's up?

There's a missing piece in the narrative. It's there and normally you don't need it. But given what's happening, that piece could explain some things going on now. I just need help from the two of you to bring it out of the darkness.

What? You mean me?

course we mean you, i'm just a skele-one here.

You knew I was watching… you're watching?

Of course we're watching. We want to observe things. This isn't a piece I can bring out on my own; not really my skill area.

Which piece?

i have no problems with that. it'd be great if you did.

Even if it does get into some dark areas?

well i don't like that, but for what could be, yeah, go ahead.

Oh, that one? It's not needed, you're really messing with what you shouldn't be doing that.

You could argue that me being here is something I shouldn't be doing. But I could offer some help, so I did. I like your world. The thing is, the way things have gone, we need that piece now.

Why? Things have made sense without it, they can make sense now.

you're a funny one to talk of making sense.

I've seen it all! Even that; it can stay hidden.

Have you really seen it all? Have you seen what happened in the capitol when Frisk came to meet with Toriel again?

…

Things are different. You know, the whole reason we started discussing this tangent at this point is that things need to be explained. And I offered something interesting with that tale of Asgore, don't you think? There's something I'd really like to explain, but I can't do it without this missing piece. That's the only way to get the specific information out there. You want to see what will happen, don't you?

That kind of curiosity is dangerous.

Not necessarily. On the contrary, if you aren't curious, you won't learn and come out of the darkness. Well it can be dangerous, that's the whole reason it went missing. But is ignorance really that much better? You're looking into all this to make sense of things.

and if you want proof that our world really is changing, let this happen. it couldn't happen if things were the same. or we can just keep hanging out in this white void, not knowing what happens next.

...okay. But our world can't change that much, it just can't. You're just making illusions.

Perhaps. Perhaps not. Thank you.

* * *

Due to the horror caused by the Bonelord, the skeleton family of monsters was mercilessly hunted down. Only one skeleton made it to the time of imprisonment and he secluded himself soon afterwards. The other monsters understood and generally left him alone. Eventually, though, he showed up before Asgore and Toriel with a proposal.

"I can't be gloomy forever, my mind won't settle down enough for that," he said. "So I've started examining ways to make life down here a little more comfortable; the barrier will take far more study to figure out, so making sure folks are happy first is the better priority."

"That would be good, Dr. Wing," Asgore said from his throne. Although, he believed that they were better off staying behind the barrier.

The skeleton shook his head. "Just call me Gaster, I'd prefer that. Anyhow, the river means we don't have to worry about water. The glowing crystals and mushrooms are helping, but more things could be done to increase the lighting around here. You've found some nice magic springs to handle the food situation, but that could be better optimized. Also, we've got access to quite a volcanic bubble. If matters aren't taken to control that, we could find poisonous vapors and lava escaping to other areas. We could turn that around so that the lava provides us a lot of energy, but I'd need a lot of hands and paws to make that happen."

"If the volcanic bubble is the most dangerous thing, we should focus on that first," Toriel suggested. "All the other matters, we can deal with what we have now."

After some more discussion, they named Gaster the Royal Scientist and put out a request for monsters to help tame the volcano.

* * *

In time, the name 'Dr Gaster' became a legacy name, passed down from father to son as those skeletons kept proving themselves brilliant scientists and magicians.

Once all the needs, dangers, and many wants of the monsters were taken care of, the third Dr. Gaster turned back to studying the barrier. It was a spell and all spells could be undone, even if some were serious puzzles to figure out. This was one of the toughest to consider, in part because it had been put together by seven humans, the best of their lot. If they were lucky, there would be a weak point or two to take advantage of. Maybe some condition they were not aware of. If they were unlucky, then each of the seven sages had their own lock and each had to be undone separately. The third, fourth, and fifth Gasters tackled the issue from many angles, sometimes having to go to extremes in their studies, hoping all the while that this, or maybe that, would be the key to undoing the barrier.

One of the angles the fourth tried was manipulating space. He hoped that teleporting through the barrier was possible. While he and his brother figured out the teleporting after months of experimentation, they hadn't yet managed to teleport out to the surface. Maybe manipulating time alongside space was needed as the two were intertwined. It led to interesting information, but still the barrier held strong. Unless it took fiddling with time around the barrier until it decayed or went back to before it existed...

"Hey Wingadingalinga!"

Distracted from his musings, he stopped by a room where two student assistants were working. One was another skeleton, Sans. "Dang it, bro, I keep telling you not to call me that," Wing said in annoyance. "Do you want me to break out a skullcracker?"

"What's the problem?" Sans teased him. "It's a bonificant name and quite a skeletal honor to inherit both." His peer rolled her eyes behind Sans.

"I can take the gasterly marrow of one, but not the wingdingulous marrow of the other," he countered.

"Well I have a bone to pick with you about another marrow."

"Isn't the name because you're really hard to understand when you get excited and talk fast?" the other student asked, trying hard to ignore the puns.

"If so, my name was accurate to the teeth," Wing admitted, then looked to his brother. "What's the bare bones of your situation?"

Sans chuckled while she groaned and put her paws over her face. "We scanned the data mines on the time surveys and there seems to be an important date coming next year."

"Oh yes, that," Wing said, knowing that particular date himself. "Do you know what happens then?"

"Not really, it gets circled in red every time," Sans said.

"Just that alone is strange and we've been trying to look around it," she added.

While he didn't know what exactly was going to happen on that date himself, there was something he could point out to them. See where they took that information. "There's an earthquake," he said, coming in to check on their computer work. "But not on that date. Shortly before then; it always happens too."

"Do you know what happens on that date?"

"Nope," Wing admitted. "It's shrouded in darkness, circled in red. But I have seen something like this happen before."

"What happened then?" Sans asked.

"Prince Asriel was born," he answered. "I started seeing signs of it two years before they announced it. Something important will happen that day."

"Is there any way to clear up this kind of data?" Sans asked, curious to what would happen.

Wing shrugged. "No clue. I've tried a few ways. If you can think of any others, make a backup of the data and try them out."

After a couple weeks, Sans did find a way to clear up and extend the data, to horrifying results.

* * *

It didn't matter what they tried. The results kept coming back the same. Decades away, there was a clear end to the world. They tried out several possibilities of how the timeline might work out, but it always ended at a particular point, give or take a couple years. They tried using time travel to manipulate certain events (mostly around the fallen humans and a few monsters that popped up in the data as important). However, only Wing and Sans could handle the time travel device. They'd lost a couple of assistants, like Alphys who got shot to the future and hadn't come back yet. Their father hadn't even tried since he was growing old, what with having three sons and all.

Then the book showed up, wet from the trash dump but still legible once they dried it out. It described a number of magical concoctions and spells from humans. Including, with a label to take extreme caution, an alchemical potion made from Sun Morpheus flowers, magical crystal dust, and a number of other ingredients that was used to induce visions into matters that could not normally be known. It seemed like a good means to do research on the barrier, except they didn't quite know what it could do to monsters.

They flipped a coin to decide that Sans would try it. _and you know, it was always me. in no timeline did that coin flip pick my brother._

It had been a terrible mistake. His words had been a torrent for a while, understandable individually but absolutely no sense taken together. More than that, he acted like he was in a nightmare and nothing they did could take him out of it. He didn't seem to hear them. After a few days of being shut in his room at their house in Snowdin, Sans came down to curling up in bed and muttering 'silence and dust, that's it' over and over again.

To take responsibility for it, Wing agreed to take care of his brother alone while their father and other brother Papyrus stayed with friends. Papyrus was a young child, so they definitely didn't want him around Sans when they didn't know what he'd do. "But I made him a get well card, so give it to him, please?" he asked.

"Sure, got it," Wing said, taking the handmade card that had been liberally decorated with stickers.

"I hope he likes it," Papyrus said seriously.

"I'm sure he will," Wing said, not wanting to disappoint him. Further. "Look, I'm sorry about all this."

"Huh, but it's not your fault he got sick," he said.

It was. "Well that you can't come see him now," he corrected. "But we'll call you once it's okay."

"Yeah! And we'll go build snow skeletons when he feels better!"

"Sure thing, it's a deal," Wing said, making Papyrus really cheerful. That was a good thing about him, might even help Sans feel cheerful once this all broke.

Once he sent him back off to their dad, Wing went up to check on Sans. He had finally fallen asleep, or at least quiet, earlier this morning. But instead of being asleep in bed, he was standing at his window. And turning back on seeing him enter. And seeing him. "Wing..."

He didn't bother to joke around with him this time. "Sans, I'm sorry about that potion."

He shook his head, started to say something… stopped, put his hand on his head… shook his head and turned back to the window. "Don't be. You're here. That's good."

"Papyrus just stopped by with a card for you," Wing said, handing him the card. His reaction was really odd. He took it, but just about cried on flipping it around to see all the stickers. After an awkward moment, Wing could only think to say, "He wanted us to go make snow skeletons when you were better."

"We..." he put his hand to his head again, "we should do that. While we have time." Then he put his hand on the window and hung his head. "Wing, I saw everything."

"About what?" he asked, intrigued and worried.

"Everything. Everyone dies, everything ends… there's some person, some anomaly, it keeps jumping from time line to time line and everything comes to an end. Often violently, but sometimes it just all gets erased when things seem at their happiest. I saw it all, how it all could go."

"But there has to be some way it can all end well," Wing said, wanting to be optimistic. Sans was optimistic.

Except, not now. Not ever again. He shook his head.

* * *

It was hard to say what exactly went wrong, except that maybe it all had, at once.

The main laboratory was in Hotland, but there was a lab within the Core. That one day, a number of them had been there. The elder Dr. Gaster was repairing some of the Core's machinery after a wide-scale power outage had occurred; several of his assistants helped on that. The younger Dr. Gaster was there to work on his time machine with a different computer, scanning for some way to optimize the future to avoid the strange ending of many timelines. With him, Sans was was helping in a halfhearted way, still not thinking it could end well. Close to them, Papyrus had gotten bored with his studies and was doodling in his school notebook instead of doing homework.

 **If you lot work together, you can actually do something against me. I can't allow that.**

 _Huh? Why does that... sound like me?_

 _Because that is 'me'. I could defeat the elder Gaster readily, but then the three brothers would unite and that was an absolute nightmare._

A metallic snap, a superheated hiss, and those too close got melted in the intensity. A mechanical shriek, a warping of the room, and time itself fractured in the room. The elder Gaster and his assistants popped out of existence, leaving the three brothers. From the chaotic magic in the room, the same thing would happen to them. Papyrus yelped and grabbed onto the closer of them, Sans.

"Wing!" Sans called in a panic.

"Get out with him, I'll follow once I know this won't erase everyone else too!" Wing said, rapidly punching commands on instinct. This couldn't expand, so contract…

It moved too fast. The fractures collapsed inward on his command, consuming W. D. Gaster before he could think of what to do next. However, it couldn't fully erase him. He was scattered and got to see what Sans had seen from the Sun Morpheus potion.

But there had to be some hope…

Years later, Sans and Papyrus finally emerged from the former's unfocused teleport. It didn't take long to discover that everything about their family except the first Dr. W. D. Gaster had been completely erased from time. Including themselves, except that they did still exist. Papyrus remembered very little of it and was often confused for a while.

Sans remembered it, sometimes even of the time he knew everything.


	10. Chara's Locket, Barrier Vines

**Chapter 10: Chara's Locket, Barrier Vines**

 _Even if we know all this, I'm still not letting this end._

 _...got to pull together..._

 _W-what? That really…?_

 _...before the king…_

 _Dad…_

Something changed. He closed his eyes and found it the same as always around him. From holes in the earth overhead, he could hear the songs of birds, feel the faint traces of sunlight. The flowers had a sweet scent tinged with magic, an arcane power they did not know how to unlock. Same as always, a nice day as long as he just noticed the birds, the flowers, the immediate things. If he got anywhere further than that, thinking on what those things meant… no. It's a nice day. Leave it at that.

There was hope.

"Hmm?" Perhaps he was mistaken. No, it was there. "From the city." He turned around and walked a way not often walked. To the balcony, where speeches and ceremonies were held. To… no, not out there. He put a hand on the balcony door, closed his eyes, searched for that strand of magic.

There was hope. A lot of it and not just from the capitol city. It was swelling from many monsters throughout the kingdom. Along with it, there was joy and excitement. They were looking forward, towards… towards…

"Freedom." The word was lead on his tongue. There had to be a human around. Later, they'd bring the seventh soul to him. He'd take on the power of the seven to break the barrier, then lead his people out… but not to freedom. To war. To death. They couldn't win a war against the humans. But hardly anyone else around had lived long enough to remember that. This was the beginning of the end.

He wanted the end… but… not for his people. No, he didn't want them to suffer. But it was either they kept suffering in this underground prison or they went out to suffer and die fighting the humans. At this point, there was no other way to go.

He could not cry. His heart was dead already. All he felt was guilt, absolute crushing guilt. This hope had no hope of becoming truth.

 _That's right…. Hic… no hope… this brief happiness…_

 _don't let it end_ never end never end never end

* * *

Chara could sense the king as soon as she entered the castle. His magic was powerful, filling the air with melancholy gray. From Chara's memory, she knew which way he wanted to go. He wanted to get his knife before meeting up with his adopted father and it was most likely to be where he'd once lived. There was no one but the king here, surprising but once they got the knife and the king's soul, all the monsters they'd passed up so far would be easier than weeds to get rid of.

Although speaking of weeds, they hadn't run into that weird talking flower again. What was its name? Not that it mattered; one flower couldn't make a difference in the grand scheme of things.

As soon as she thought that, she had the feeling that the thought was completely wrong.

 **Been a long time since I walked this way. Yet aside from the dust, it's just as I remember. It's not even the dust of death, just plain old dust.**

"Hmm?" Chara glanced around, noticing that instead of the grand entrance, she was now walking down a rather ordinary hallway. It reminded her strongly of the house Toriel had been living in. When had they gotten...? "Hey, what the hell are you doing?"

"What are you talking about?" he replied, with her voice. No, not quite her voice, it sounded different. "You were distracted and I know the way."

She stopped. "I don't mind you riding along, and I'll tolerate your whiny brother for your sake, but don't you go using my body like that."

"Well pay a little more attention and get things done so I don't have to. It's the first door, same one Toriel gave us way back in Home."

"Alright." She opened the door and found a bedroom for two boys. Twin beds, a box of old toys and crayons, a cabinet, a bunch of childish drawings: it all seemed so normal. However, there were a few things of promise. For one, a pair of neatly wrapped presents on the floor. For another, a collection of photos on a low bookshelf. "Hey..."

"Huh, wonder what the presents are..." he started to wonder aloud, but then she walked right by them to the bookshelf. "What are you up to?"

"Are these family photos?" she asked teasingly. To her delight, they were, photos of a family of four where three were goat monsters and one was a human. "Ah, that's so cute, you being all shy in hiding your face in buttercups! And look at this one, what a face."

"Oh my god," he groaned in embarrassment. "Don't call me cute."

This was too much fun, delicious revenge after that momentary take over. "But those dimples and rosy cheeks! You could've been on those stupidly sweet greetings cards with that look. A real Precious Moments boy, d'aww."

"You didn't strike me as the kind of girl who goes ga-ga over cuteness," he snapped.

"Not normally, but then it is you," she said, flirting now.

"Aahh, well," Great, he was falling for it! "Well I guess I can take that. I mean, you are the one human I could tolerate being around, if I was more than a ghost."

"If we could find some way to bring you back, I'd do it because it'd be more fun to work with you that way," Chara said, leaving the photos now. "Now, let's see what this is all about." She picked the one on her right and checked it over.

While it looked like a present box, it was just a nicely presented box with a lid that came off simply. There was a knife inside. From the delight in her hitchhiker, that was Chara's old knife. And it was an exquisite thing: a protective leather sleeve (could go on her belt), a white handle with a mother-of-pearl inlay (comfortable to hold), a sturdy long blade (well balanced), a set of initials (couldn't be his, perhaps his father's?). It might have been here in this dusty old children's room for decades, but it was clean and polished recently. Nicking the box with it showed that it was very sharp.

"Well well, this is a lovely thing," she said in admiration. "Not even my dad has something so... **perfect**."

"Finally, I'm glad to have it back," he added, probably wanting to mess with it. "It's like the very definition of a knife, isn't it? All others I've seen are pale shadows, imitations. I don't know where my father got it, but now that we have this, we shouldn't need any other weapon."

"I believe it," she said, then went over to check out the other box. Inside this one, there was a white heart-shaped locket on a gold chain. "Huh, that's kind of a girly thing for you to have."

"Oh that," he said as if it were no more interesting than a glass of water. "Yeah, it was something Asgore and Toriel got me and Asriel one time because we were so close to each other. If I had a say in it, I would've gotten me a key and him a lock to remind him that I am the one in control."

She chuckled at that. "Yeah, that would've been more fun."

Then his voice turned more unsure, trying to work through something he was unfamiliar with. "Although, um, it could look good on you. If you want, I mean, I never really wore it."

"Don't blame you for that," she said, looking over the locket. Was there anything inside? Probably a picture of Chara and Asriel if things around here were any indication. Still, that could be fun to keep taunting him about being cute with. "Are you trying to make me forget that little trick of yours in giving me a gift?"

"No, no! And, well, you get to use my knife, I'd be uncomfortable with anyone else having it. You could think of the locket as a gift. We're partners, right? I, I don't want to harm you." He sounded as if that was a strange thing for him to say.

She could relate. "I can appreciate that."

"Um, there's a mirror out in the hall, if you want to try it on, that is."

Well, he was letting her use this perfect ideal of a knife. "Not really my kind of thing, but sure, why not?" She took the locket out into the hallway, recalling that there had been one at the very end at Toriel's. And, here was a similar mirror. After wiping a bit of dust off, she looked back at her face. Her skin was a bit paler than she was used to seeing, but she still had that fine dark brown hair and hazel eyes.

Although the locket was old too, the clasp moved smoothly as she put it around her neck.

 **SNAP**

Chara put his hand on the locket. It felt alive now, warm and beating. In the mirror, her eyes were briefly blank before they flashed. Now there were red eyes looking back at himself.

"Just as I hoped," he said, smiling. "Except being in a girl's body, but I can adapt." He clutched the locket tighter. "You are the one human I could tolerate, Chara, but I swore that I'd wipe out all of humanity one day. Even you. Because, in this world of just one story, what humanity is there but you and I?"

He nearly laughed, but then remembered something.

"Except, that Frisk girl. She's sort of like you, before we walked through so many games together. And then there's the issue of things being so different. It's hard to keep track of things, but I could never lock your soul away like this before. I'm different too. Plus, no matter what we did, we could never kill Dr. Alphys directly." That made him smile again. "I should change that. But no, Asgore first. He's such a dork and I had to put up with so much sappiness from him. Once I have his soul, everything should fall into place."

Again, he had the feeling that something wasn't quite right, words not adding up. But, why let it bother him? He was in control now and he was going to kill Asgore for his soul. From there, he could use Asgore and Asriel to absorb the six captive human souls and then he, Chara, would be a god who could destroy the world as he saw fit. That was what mattered.

And from the feel of magic around here, he had to be in the throne room.

never end never end never end

* * *

"It seems like nearly everyone in the underground was watching that," Alphys said once the broadcast ended. She'd never seen such high numbers for a viewer count on the network monitoring program before. Also on her computer, she kept a second window open to monitor time-space fluctuations. Those readings were also unusual, much more worrisome.

"Wonderful, I haven't had this much fun in ages!" Mettaton said, taking Frisk's hand. "I suppose I have you both to thank for that. I thought I would be at my greatest alone, but apparently not."

"That was lots of fun," Frisk said, a bounce in her step as the two of them came over to her. "Asriel had fun too. So how can we figure out about the time lines and all that?"

She wasn't an expert on time manipulation and of what she did know, it was in a level of language far above explaining it to a child. "It's going to be hard to solve," Alphys said. "I'm not entirely an expert in that field and the monster who is, well, that's..." she snapped her claws again. It was just barely there.

"That's Dr. W. D. Gaster," Sans said, showing up in the shadows nearby.

Alphys yelped and just about knocked over her soda. Mettaton also looked surprised while Frisk just laughed. Grabbing her drink before it did spill, Alphys said, "Geez, Sans, quit doing that!"

"But I am right," he said with a chuckle.

Gaster… "No, W. D. Gaster was the one who tamed the volcanic bubble to build the Core and wrote Science on the Spiritual," Alphys said, but then something clicked in her mind. She'd known a skeleton by that name, but the original Royal Scientist had passed away long before her time. "U-unless you mean… the, the fourth Gaster? There was only one… no wait, I was taught by the third and fourth..."

"There was an accident in the Core a few decades back that was missed by most because the results were erased from time," Sans said. "Don't ask me to explain now, it's a long story."

"Could he explain why I was seeing into lots of different worlds a little while ago?" Frisk asked. "Asriel and Chara are existing in two times right now, but I'm only here in one of them."

"The two princes died long ago, so they can't be existing now," Mettaton said.

"They're ghosts," she explained.

"That would take just as long to explain, probably boring too," Sans said with a shrug. "And Wing could do better than me. For now, don't worry about that. Instead, I came to get you two because there's a problem in the capitol that we need to put our skulls together for." He looked up at Mettaton. "Suppose you could come too if you've got nothing better to do."

"I don't have anything on the schedule, so I'll see what you're up to," Mettaton said.

"What's the problem?" Alphys asked, setting her computer to sleep so she could put it back in the dimensional box.

"You'll have to see it to believe it," Sans said.

Since the elevators in the underground could warp from point to point, Sans was able to get them from the MTT-Resort Hotel over to an outdoors cafe right outside the castle gates. And she had to admit that Sans was right. She wouldn't have believed him if he said that magical vines had wrapped entirely around the castle so that they couldn't get in or out. At the cafe, they found Undyne, two others of the Royal Guard, Papyrus, and, strangely enough, Toriel already discussing the matter. There was also a brown cat that Alphys swore that it grinned at her like it knew something, but the cat soon left her mind.

"Toriel!" Frisk called happily, running right over to hug her.

"Oh Frisk, wonderful to see you again!" the former queen replied, hugging her back. "I saw you on TV just now; that was exciting."

"Hey there," Undyne said with a smile. And apparently looking at her? Alphys smiled back, trying not to look too embarrassed. Then she looked over at Sans. "How'd you find them so quickly?"

"I have my ways," he said.

After a few more minutes of greetings and catching everyone up on what was going on, they were all sitting at one of the larger cafe tables to discuss the problem of the magical vines. Save for Mettaton who'd gotten distracted by some fans, but he'd not be as helpful in this situation. "If they could just be cut, I'd be through them already," Undyne said, shaking a hand that had a bandage wrapped around it. "I've been trying to get through since last night. Sometimes I can get the leaves, but the vines are indestructible to anything I tried. Even asked this place for the best knife they've got and it didn't help."

"I tried to burn them a little while ago," Toriel added. "They did burn, but turned back to whole green vines in seconds."

"Then I tried to rip out the burning vine," Undyne said, showing her bandaged hand again. "No dice."

"That's odd, since if they're weak to anything, it's fire magic," Alphys said. Having been given one of the fallen leaves by Papyrus, she'd scanned it with her laptop to get better data on it. "My god… some of these numbers on the vine magic are incredible. Only thing I've seen come close to this is readings from the barrier. It'd have to be a really powerful fire magic user using all their strength to burn through those."

"What about two working in tandem?" Sans asked.

"It'd help not exhaust them," Alphys said. "But if Toriel can't manage on her own, we'd have to get Asgore too..." she hesitated on going on and looked over at her.

As she thought, Toriel didn't look that happy with the idea. "True, we'd be hard pressed to find someone else that can wield boss level fire magic."

"That just takes us back to the problem of getting to Asgore," Undyne said. "My phone claims it can't get a signal when I try to call him."

"I need to see if I can call my dad here," Frisk said, picking up her school bag to get her phone. Of course, that was an entirely different problem.

"That'd be the vines too, at least blocking signals to Asgore," Alphys said, then the smaller window open caught her eye again. "Wait, Sans? What's up with that?"

"It's another time distortion, but different from the last one," he said, glancing around then pointing towards Papyrus. "I think, about there, now..."

"What?" Papyrus asked, glancing back just in time to see a violent shimmer in the air behind him. Cracks appeared, then tore through the air like crazed whistle.

It only took half a second, then a third skeleton stumbled out of the cracks in the air right before they vanished. A few inches shorter than Papyrus, he wore a long lab coat that had been completely scorched into various shades of brown, yet miraculously was still holding together. An assortment of tools were stuffed into pockets, on a belt, and apparently inside the lab coat, as well a pair of shielding goggles on top of his head. He shook his head and mumbled something, looked at them, then grinned and hugged Papyrus. "!"

"Uh, hi?" Papyrus said, unsure of this stranger to him. Something about him almost made something click in Alphys' mind, but it was like reaching for a file that wasn't in the right place. She knew he was there, and yet…

"!" he went on excitedly, patting Papyrus on the head and seeming really happy to see him.

After laughing a bit, Sans got up and went over to them. "Wing, calm down. Though I don't blame you."

"…" the stranger left off messing with Papyrus and hugged Sans instead. After that, he held a hand up, closing his eyes to try saying something. His words were indecipherable.

"You remind me of another Wing, but you couldn't be him," Toriel said.

"Wait, Dr. Gaster?" Alphys said, things finally falling into place. "Uh, what happened to you?"

"That's a long story," Sans said again.

"And now," Wing said, pausing to make sure his words were right. "And now's not quite the time for that sort of thing. I know what's going on. Yes, you are going to need Asgore and Toriel to deal with that vine barrier, but there's something else we need to prepare for. I need your help, Sans, and that cat too."

"Sure thing," Sans said.

"Fine, if I must," the cat said, twitching a fading tail where it was laying on a chair nearby.

"Wait a sec, who are you again?" Papyrus asked, confused.

"Why the cat?" Alphys asked, confused too. Especially since it was half gone now.

"She's a Cheshire cat, she can obviously manipulate space-time," Wing said, then nodded to Papyrus. "And I'm your older older brother, by the way. I just managed to pull myself back together after that last accident, but you weren't much older than the lass here when I last saw you. Mentally speaking, I mean. Oh yes, and I don't know if my equipment will appear back in the lab, but I do need to get in there because it ought to still have the computers we need to finalize this gamble."

And not just the public labs, but they'd probably need the real labs in the basement. "Um, well, that could be a problem," Alphys said, uneasy.

"What's the matter?" Frisk asked, watching her.

That broke her fearful silence. "It's just, there was another accident in the labs a few years back, something I did that went terribly wrong."

"Alphys," Wing said, with sincere caring of a friend that she hadn't seen in decades. How much did he know already? "I accidentally blasted over a dozen people, including three whole generations of my own family, into not existing at all in history. It can't be that much worse than that. There's more important matters at hand, like making sure we have a peaceful future. That's really what's at stake here, we need to get Frisk through the barrier."

"Wait, we don't exist?" Papyrus asked in shock.

Chuckling at that, Wing talked rapidly and unintelligibly on something. "Wing," Sans warned him warmly, elbowing his ribs.

"But we're here, and you're," Papyrus said, trying to work his way through that with his hands.

"Okay, it's too technical for me to not go into speech defects, but the gist of it is, I erased us out of existence while trying to make sure the same didn't happen to everything else," Wing said. "But not exactly since Sans and I had experience in time manipulation and could get out of it with you. It just took me a lot longer to get out of not existing than you two."

That was pretty bad, Alphys reflected, although her mistakes were pretty bad too. "Well, Asgore had me study the captive human souls in working out how the barrier functions," she said. These were all friends here, she thought (except maybe the cat, if it was here at all). And there was still some lingering hope from Frisk's performance encouraging her to go ahead and tell them. "I managed to isolate a particular trait that humans have in far more abundance than monsters: determination. It did cause some reactions, so I tried infusing a group of monsters who'd fallen into comas with human determination. While they did wake up after the treatment and seemed okay for a couple days, monsters can't handle high levels of determination like humans can."

"Did they end up dying anyhow?" Toriel said.

"Well, no," Alphys said. "Something worse happened… it's kind of hard to explain it. Well let's go over, I know how to handle them. Oh but first, could someone take Frisk out to the art walk? We figured that until we can get in the castle, that's the best point in all the underground for her to get a call out to her parents aboveground."

"If you mean the uppermost tunnels to the south, I remember how to get up there," Toriel said.

"Yeah, that's the place," Undyne said. "They had to take out the museum to make new living spaces, so the artists took their works into the outer halls where we couldn't put more homes."

With that decided on, Toriel took Frisk to the art walk while the rest of them headed to the labs in Hotland.

Never end never end never end

* * *

Back here again: the judgment hall. Like the wishing room in Waterfall, the design of this place made it look far larger than it really was. Imposing stone arches soared overhead, pure light (not sunlight, though it looked remarkably convincing) poured through oversized stained glass windows, smooth tiles echoed vibrantly with every step. It was made to be so venerable that those who walked through it felt small and unimportant in the grand scheme of things.

It was the stage of one of the most important confrontations in every timeline that made it this far.

Images flickered through his mind, memories dancing in and out of the shadows. This could go many ways and he knew all of them. At least, the ones that had been possible. Things had changed. The whole medium had changed. This would go differently. But right here, right now, his mission was still the same: the last guardian before the end of this timeline.

He was just the unlucky one who had to deal with the genocidal one.

At the edges of his mind, creeping out when he didn't try to focus on it, he could sense the Sans on the other side of the coin. Things had definitely changed there. He felt happy, hopeful… even optimistic which didn't make sense to him. If that was a sign of things working out, then that timeline might be stronger. Which made him a false Sans, but when he felt from the other Sans, he could accept being fake.

Small paws walked across the tiles, starting from the middle of the room instead of any doorway. Sans looked over and saw a brown cat approaching him. From the way magic warped around this one, she was a time traveler too. "Are you the angel with the crazy plan?" he asked.

"That's me," the cat said, stopping to sit down a few feet in front of him. "Sorry about this."

He shrugged. "If we can break out and have a future, it could be worth it. Not that I'd know."

"But you will help make that future," she said.

"With Papyrus there?" he asked, since he couldn't be sure of details when he couldn't focus on it.

"And Wing."

He snapped his fingers; that was impressive. "Hmm. If you can manage a miracle like that, fine, what do you need out of me?"

"Do your usual thing, just don't forget," the cat glanced off at the arches, "things aren't the same. There is something you need to ask, though. Ask them why."

"Why what?" Sans asked.

"Why anything. The more things that come from memories outside the box, the weaker their influence will be later on. Actually, you could ask them more than why, just keep asking them to explain themselves. Color in more of the picture, if you will." The cat looked back at him. "I'll be back to see you once more. That will be our next gamble."

"And what exactly is that?"

She explained. It was dangerous. Yet, he could see how building a new future and escaping this routine would require it.

"Sounds far-fetched to me," he admitted. "But there's not a lot of options. As long as you don't need my belief, go for it."

"We'll see. If that's all, I need to jump back over."

There was one thing that he could think of, something that would make this feel less futile. "Could you make sure the memory of this timeline isn't entirely lost? It's not good, but if I know it won't be forgotten entirely, it'd be easier to deal with this."

"It won't be forgotten, that's certain," the cat promised.

 _Why remember a doomed timeline? That's a terrible promise to make when we're not even sure which, if either, is real._

Never end never end never end


	11. Your Parents Love You and Worry AboutYou

**Chapter 11: Your Parents Are Going to Love You and Worry About You Whatever You Do**

 **I hate that title, it's so inaccurate.**

 _Even if… I hurt them so much..._

Never end never end never end

* * *

Asriel was unsure, but Frisk was happy. She was pretty sure that Asriel wanted to be happy too, so she chatted with Toriel on the way to the art walk. "Mettaton's an actor, so he can act all kinds of ways without meaning it. But he really does like humans, I could feel it when we were dancing."

"That's good," she said, opening a door for her. "I was worried at first when he said he'd take your soul, but he did seem so happy then that I didn't think he would."

She nodded. "Some monsters have said they'd take my soul, but then I show them I don't wanna hurt them and they quickly agree that they don't want to hurt me. Well, Undyne took a long while, but once she did, she's been an awesome friend. More monsters just didn't want to hurt me at all and thought we were playing when they started a battle, but they didn't even realize I was a human."

"Aah, hunan?!"

They stopped where they were in the artwalk, among a number of paintings of monsters. Close by, there were four odd creatures that could be cats or could be dogs, except that they had black hair hanging from their head too. They were in the process of hanging up a new work that was made of lots of colored pawprints walked across the paper. "Cutie hoomin!" one of them said, coming over towards them.

"Ah, no no!" Another one ran and stopped in front of the other. "Sorry, this hunan is kyutie, but hunans is allergic to Tems. It be real awful bad, sorry kyutie hunan." It looked over at her sadly.

"Aw, that's too bad, I think you're cute too," Frisk said.

"They're the Temmies," Toriel said, smiling at them as they squealed at the compliment. "They're, well, different, but they mean well."

"We Tem Brigade!" the one who'd warned them said, smiling back with a curled tail. "Make great art, share great Tem culture with all. What hunan do here?"

"I got here by accident, so I'm working to get home," Frisk said. "Then I'm gonna make sure I can visit my monster friends any time by breaking the barrier."

"Oo, yaya, break barrier so we can see more hoomins!" It bounced around gleefully.

"Maybe find way to make hunan not allergic?"

"I'm sure that can be done with the right study," Toriel said, much to their delight. "Oh, but since you like humans so much, do you know of a place here where we can get phone signals from the human town nearby? She needs to call her parents."

"Yaya, good place to tune hunan shows." The Temmie took to the air, darting off ahead a few feet before stopping to turn back to them. "This way, this way!"

Following after the Temmie, Frisk and Toriel came to a place that definitely had a good signal. Some monsters had set up a computer and TV room here to try reaching the humans. There was even a cracked satellite dish, except pointed at the ground like somebody didn't know how it worked. Nearby, an enterprising fire monster had set up a snack stand for those using the room or following the art walk. Frisk's phone showed good reception here, so she let go of Toriel's hand and put in her dad's cell number.

There was a long moment of silence before a ring tone came.

 _What humanity is there besides Chara and Chara… and Frisk?_

Then another…

 _It's not possible, you're not even allowed to dial._

Another…

 _But if you were allowed… if there was more outside of one story… what could be?_

And click. "Hello?"

"Dad, it's me!" Frisk said, grinning and clutching the phone tightly so as not to lose it.

His voice was shaken. "Frisk? Frisk, is that really you?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I just couldn't call you until now."

"It is her," he said to someone off the phone, then talked to her, "Thank goodness, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Actually, it's great cause I'm with the monsters!"

"You're with the monsters?"

She explained to him about how she'd gotten called up the mountain by a ghost and fell in the crevice, then about all of the good monsters that had helped her out. "We got to figure out how to get into the castle now, and then I gotta talk to the Monster King Asgore, but I should be back home soon cause they got two Royal Scientists working on it, so that shouldn't take long. Then we gotta talk about getting the barrier broken cause the monsters are really good people and we should all be friends again."

Her dad chuckled. "You sound like your mom. That could be complicated, but it seems better to try. So the monsters are being good to you."

"Yeah, they're great! Lots of them are my friends now and they want to make sure I get home safe too. I even cooked with some of them and slept over at their houses."

"That's great. We were really worried about it, if you had gone up Mt Ebott for some reason. We didn't want, well, at least it's worked out for you. You be a good girl for your new friends and help them out. When are you going to be able to come home?"

"Um, we're not sure," she admitted. "As I said, we got to talk to the king first and the castle is sealed off, but we need the king's magic to open up the castle. But they're smart people, so it'll be figured out. I'll call you when I get out of the barrier, okay?"

"Sure, that's probably for the best since the mountain trails can be confusing. I can get to you once you're out."

"Yeah. And I'm sorry about going off so late, but when I got called here, I couldn't say no at all."

"That's fine. We're just relived that you're alive and well. Call me again if things get held back, though."

"Sure thing," she promised. "But I have a feeling I'll be seeing you soon."

"I hope so. We love you, Frisk."

"I love you all too, Dad."

"Well, see you later then,"

She smiled. "Yeah, see you later!" She ended the call, then turned back to Toriel. "It's just my dad, but he said we got to try to get along, so I think it's gonna go good."

"I hope so, that would be best," Toriel said, smiling fondly. Then she seemed serious. "Frisk? Well..."

"What is it?" she asked. Something was bothering her. But then she yawned. "Oh, sorry."

Toriel came over and offered her hand. "That's okay, you've done a lot today. We should probably get to the lab and sleep there."

Frisk nodded. "Yeah, that'd be good."

never end never end never end

* * *

 _That… that night… I remember…_

Before going to sleep, she talked some more about her home and family. "My Mom's a negotiator," Frisk explained. "When dangerous stuff happens, she goes in to talk with the people responsible and make them stop without hurting anybody. And they say she's the best at it in the whole world. So she goes all over in her work, and if there's not an immediate problem, she helps ambassadors and leaders keep things peaceful everywhere. So if you want somebody to convince humans that monsters are good and should be free, my Mom's the best person to help out."

"She certainly sounds that way," Toriel said, sitting on the bed by her. "Although given how you've handled things here, you must take after her strongly."

She smiled at that, really happy with the comparison. That started to make me feel something, when I had been trying to ignore it. He'd told me that only he could understand me. "That's what Dad told me. I hope I can be as great as her."

"I'd be glad to talk with her," she said, but sad thoughts came to her. "Frisk, I don't mean to change the subject so abruptly, but, Undyne called me last night. That's why I decided to come out to help you. She told me that," it was hard for her to speak, so Frisk took her hand. Did she know then? My heart ached. "She said that my child Asriel was with you."

I didn't want to talk to her. Don't judge me! I, I missed her, but, the things I've seen… I didn't want to talk to her. It hurt too much. I've seen her die. And… and… _I had killed her myself._ I loved my Mom and I killed her. You can't be forgiven for that kind of thing; you'll remember even if time is reset and few others do.

But then, Frisk nodded slowly. "Yeah, he and Chara tagged along. Not really possessing me since they don't control me, just talk to me in my head. But, Asriel's having a really hard time. He's scared, although I haven't asked him much directly about that since I'm trying to be his friend."

She cares about me like Chara does, worries about me and talks to me. Tries to have fun with me even though I'm a crybaby. But it comes down to her or Chara, only one can win… I can't decide, this is tearing me apart.

"I'm glad for that," Mom said. Then she had to ask, "What about Chara?"

That got Frisk worried. "Um, he's no good. Asriel calls him a nightmare."

"What?" she asked in shock.

"He's real scary and has a lot of hate," she said. "And, um, about all that time stuff they said, well it's like there's another girl walking through the underground with me, but in a place where other stuff happened. Chara is more active in that time, and he keeps yelling at Asriel in this time and making him cry. But sometimes I hear him real close, and it's real creepy like somebody with a knife is right behind me."

Mom looked sad to hear that. "Oh. I knew he had an unhappy past and that was why he ended up down here. But we always thought they were friends."

He is my friend. "He said..." I started to say, then realized I was talking through Frisk. I didn't want to hurt her! But I felt like crying and she nearly was even though she wasn't as upset.

"You can talk if you want, I don't mind," Frisk said. Mom squeezed her hand but it was like she had my hand right then.

"He said he wouldn't let anyone else hurt me, only he could hurt me," I said. Then I was really afraid that he was listening, but he wasn't. He had a big problem on his hands, the only reason I could talk then.

"That's not a nice thing to say, even as a joke," Mom said.

"That wasn't a joke, that was a promise. The jokes were times like when he acted like he was going to choke me. But he never did, he just did it to be funny. But he kept saying I was important to him, and I wanted to be like him, so I helped him, only he said not that long ago that the reason he picked me was because he knew I wouldn't fight him and he could control everything when we were together. Like, he called the others down to the underground and we traveled along with them, and he..." I shuddered, really wanting to stop before Chara noticed, but Mom….

She put an arm around me, pulled me closer to her. "Oh Asriel, I'm so sorry we didn't realize things weren't as they seemed."

And just then, I remembered her terror and pain at the betrayal. I was crying so hard that I shook. "We killed you! On the other side, the other girl really likes to cause pain and they killed you and it was so awful! And it wasn't the only time because time keeps resetting and everything happens over and over again, and he's been getting more and more violent and so many people end up as dust and I can't stop him. And he said once he kills Dad over there, he's going to cross over and kill all of us too. Except me, he wants to make me keep watching him be terrible. But I don't want to keep doing things like this, I ju-just want it all to stop. B-but, but I c-can't leave him, or I'm, I'm, I'm n-nothing."

I don't remember if I said anything else, or even if the other two said anything. But there was a time when I was crying in her lap. She started singing softly, the song she used to put me to sleep when I was scared, back when I was alive. I mean, Frisk had to be there, since I was borrowing her body. But for a moment, I was back with Mom and I could feel her love like a soothing fire after so long of being cold and dark..

And you know, I was hiding under the bed too. But from that point of view, _it was a terrible pain, trying to eat away at the total emptiness in me but it was too deep and I had no soul that could be reached. She'd only see me as a strange flower, one that she had blasted away from Frisk before. She'd do it more strongly given who was with her, not knowing that that was me too. It was awful._

So I fell asleep, at peace for a little bit. If that had been the end of it, then maybe... maybe I wouldn't mind it. But it wasn't and here I am, the whole story flashing by my eyes.

So I ran off and focused more on something I could understand better, once I got out of the girl's influence. Although, it wasn't really the girl who bothered me. Anyhow, all this mushy stuff is boring; let's get to a more exciting part.

Never end never end never end

* * *

He found his feet slowing as he approached the judgment hall. Why? It was the edges of his consciousness, something that he should know but it wasn't easy to grasp. It was like when he was vaguely aware of this existence within a video game and could make some decisions based on that. At times like now when he couldn't entirely remember, there were just those ideas that popped up as related, but he couldn't pin down what the meaning was.

Chara entered the judgment hall, saw the stern light within… echoes of powerful frustration yet excitement flooded back to him. There was a rare strain of triumph. As it was so intense, it echoed far back and he knew someone was particularly dangerous because of this very moment. But why couldn't he...?

On his collarbone, the locket shivered. He walked further in, his footsteps echoing through the silence. There seemed to be no one here. If so, why did this room make him feel this way? Why couldn't he remember? He'd been doing so well up until he got... up until he got her to put on his locket. He'd sealed her soul away in that, but perhaps he'd sealed off more than he meant. "Shit."

"What do we have here?" someone said, making him stop in his tracks. With the acoustics of this room, he couldn't quite tell where it had come from. "A boy in a girl's body." No one was in front of him, nor to his sides. "The eighth child to fall." Chara spun around... and no one was there. "And the first child too. Huh, two out of three and a fourth factor. Not bad overall."

He turned back around and in the center of the judgment hall, twelve feet in front of him, there was that damn lazyass Sans of all people. He was so lazy that he showed up in this important place wearing house slippers. "You?!" Chara asked, wondering how he'd seen this skeleton as dangerous. Also how he'd missed sensing him at all until this room.

Sans tilted his head. "Hmm? You don't seem very clear on things this time around. But something of you remembers. Is it because you sealed her off? Or maybe, you cut a string you shouldn't have? For your objectives, anyhow."

"How do you know this stuff?" It didn't make sense, yet there was probably something obvious he was missing.

"I tried knowing everything once, but that kind of thing doesn't work out," Sans said. "After that, you have to have a selective memory in defense of your own sanity. There are times when a fractured mind can only make judgments based on what's in front of them. You understand that, or you should."

"Selective," except he couldn't select what he was remembering. But once you knew everything, you couldn't just forget it. It was still there in his mind, even if he couldn't figure out how to remember.

"Let me give you an example," Sans said. "When I met you two outside the Ruins, I knew you were someone important. At the time, I couldn't think of why. But now, when you've made the underground silent and I have no reason to care about you or promises, I can focus on remembering," there was a glint in his left eye, "that not only did you destroy my brother, you also mean to destroy the world."

 _ **CRACK**_

"Shit." And here he was, back at the start of the judgment hall just past the door. Chara didn't even know what hit him, just that whatever magic it was tore right through him. But, Sans' magic couldn't be that powerful. He couldn't detect the skeleton in here. Anything that should be capable of one-shotting him should come from a strong soul with strong magic.

Sans was different, or so a quiet voice in his head insisted. Some of that very old memory came back to him from one of the periods when he knew the whole picture, big and small. He'd identified a major obstacle in a family of four skeletons as two of them had the potential to understand him enough to restrict his powers. To stop that, he had to shut them down before they had a chance to fully understand him. He couldn't do it himself, but there was a little flower that was all too easy to manipulate into doing it for him.

That... that was right, wasn't it? It made sense at least. Except that two of the skeletons had survived an incident that should have erased them out of time entirely. Papyrus had fallen way more easily ever since, but Sans... Sans... Chara couldn't quite remember, but recalling his words just now, he had to know about time manipulation still. Still, Sans couldn't have the powers of save and load. Only he did in this timeline. He just had to learn this fight. Chara walked further into the judgment hall, expecting the confusing call.

Instead, he heard, "Back again?" Sans was standing there by one of the pillars, observing from where he hadn't been before. "What for?"

"What do you mean what for?" Chara asked, irritated at the question.

"Just what I said," he replied, perhaps to annoy him more. "You're aware that you're going to have a bad time. What reason do you have to keep going?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you," he said, firing off his knife spell before Sans could do whatever he was trying to do.

It made hundreds of little cuts on the stone pillar, but Sans wasn't there anymore. He wasn't anywhere in sight. "For no reason, then? Can't say I understand that frame of mind, but I understand how dangerous it is."

 _ **CRACK**_

Chara felt like his spine might snap if he were any more tense. "I have my reasons!" he shouted into the judgment hall.

"Oh, and what would those reasons be?" Sans asked, continuing the conversation even though Chara had just been forced to load. He was nowhere in sight again.

"I don't have to tell you!" he shouted, hurling the knife spell into the hall.

It hit nothing. "Suit yourself."

 _ **CRACK**_

 _Kill or be killed. I understand this better. It's how the world is, you're either strong and do what you like, or weak and be nothing but something to trod on. Being good just ends up helping others more than yourself and they take advantage of that. Though I have to admit, watching this battle is a lot different in times when I talked to him beforehand as opposed to this once where I hadn't..._

 _I hadn't, so I didn't realize..._

 _Ch-Chara? You, you..._

 _Stop it now! Stop it and reset! Go back to the beginning and there will be happy parts, and maybe if we allow it, more interesting and different parts...don't continue, don't let it end._

 _ **Never end never end never end**_

* * *

 _Go find the happy parts._

It was a weird mix of excitement and utter bafflement, learning that he not only had a third brother, but also that for a while they had all been erased completely from the world. He'd figured that their father had died sometime when he was young, had some faint memories of something being really off with Sans way back then. Although, what did it matter? Their family was together and that was a great thing.

Except that Wing was as much of a punster as Sans was and putting them together was an awful idea. "Oh my god, do you two ever stop?" Papyrus asked.

"Tibia honest, only time can tell and we broke time," Sans said.

"First numbskull who repeats one loses and gets dunked on," Wing said, then grabbed Sans and gave him a noogie for doing so. He just laughed at that.

It was a different kind of laugh than usual, more lighthearted. Which was good, since as funny as Sans tried to be, there were times when he got really morose. This would help. Still, Papyrys groaned again and put his hand over his face. "Come on, you're supposed to be the respectable scientist around here."

"If I remember right, this is completely normal for them," Alphys said, shaking her head.

And that was another thing he was having to adjust to, that his brother was actually really intelligent. Both of them, for that matter. And somehow Wing was able to get Sans to actually get up and do things, like walk with them over to the lab rather than taking one of his weird shortcuts. "Trust me, the world's a lot better when you take it whimsically," Wing said. "Dad once said I taught him that, though he wasn't that good at pun wrangling himself."

"What was Dad like?" Papyrus asked, curious as well as hoping that this got them away from puns for a little while. "I don't remember a lot, except that he seemed to have loads of stickers."

"That he did," Wing said. "Great-grandfather Gaster built the Core and made it easier for us to farm magic for food. And grandfather Gaster worked on lighting, paths, and lots of other small things to increase our quality of life, so our father Gaster studied the barrier for ways to break it. He mostly focused on seals, shields, and barriers in his research, with the idea that if he built enough of them, he'd figure out how the barrier was constructed."

"What does that have to do with stickers?" Undyne asked.

"You can use stickers to seal an envelope," Sans pointed out.

Wing nodded. "Trust me, we went in all kinds of directions trying to figure the barrier out, big and small. He made improvements on general use shields, so a lot of monsters now who use shields in battle are borrowing his techniques. At the same time, those magical stickers that just shimmer and sparkle? His work too."

"Those are the best stickers!" Papyrus said. And their father had made those? Amazing!

"Good, since he did make those to amuse us," Wing said, glad for that. "He was pretty serious when I was a kid, but he'd loosened up by the time Sans was around. He used to keep after me to be on a regular schedule and not track snow in the house. Then he got down to, well get your homework and chores done, but go ahead and mess around if you have time."

"What about our mother?" Papyrus asked, since he didn't remember anyone like that at all in his life.. "Or did she get shot into nonexistence too?"

"None, we just had Dad," Sans said. "And don't get Wing started on that."

"On what?" Papyrus asked.

Waving a hand at Sans to let him talk, Wing started off with, "Well all monsters started off as magical constructs, life summoned into being by humans. All life, even magically induced, has a way of adapting to fit the needs of the being in response to environment. Actually, magical beings tend to mutate easily so it didn't take long for a lot of monster types to start changing and sustaining their own populations in other ways, but skeletons follow one of the most primitive and ancient methods of construction and so we aren't so much born as..." his words kept coming out faster until they started blurring together into weird nonsense.

Sans shrugged. "He's always been like this. May as well let him get it out of his system before we have to go discussing more immediate issues."

He did stop when they got down to the lower level of the laboratory. While he'd never been here, Papyrus thought the place looked pretty normal here. One light flickered, but the others worked and the tile floors were clean. There was one of the strangest monsters he'd ever seen there too, a blobby mass of gel, scales, feathers, and fur. On noticing them, it rose into the air and opened up at least two dozen eyes all over, whirling about trying to get a look with all of them. Okay, so that wasn't normal. But he wasn't about to be scared.

"What kind of monster is that?" Undyne asked.

"That one was..." Alphys rubbed her head, "a Moldsmal, a young rabbit, a salamander, and a Snowl. The determination eventually melted their bodies and when they got too close to each other, they fused into one. But the determination lingers, so they don't turn to dust. It's really tough to communicate with them now."

Wing went to look it over. "Huh. Well, there are those stories of monsters in the war who gave incredible last stands when pushed to their limits. Nearly all of them mention them melting away before turning to dust."

"Oh yeah, those are some of the best stories," Undyne said. "Except, they're all tragic because the drive that lets them outdo themselves becomes their downfall."

"Can you measure their levels of determination?" Wing asked. Once Alphys nodded, he added, "Then how's it been holding out?"

"It has been dropping in all of them," Alphys said. "Not at the same rate between the group, but in the individual, it's mostly constant. I think this one is one of the lowest now, but it keeps persisting."

"It's interesting, but we're on a time limit with Frisk's work. If the other timeline progresses too much, the other child will get too powerful." He then started rattling off various machines to see what Alphys had to work with, eventually going off with her and Sans.

"Well now what?" Papyrus asked. "I wanted to help, but it's hard to keep up with those three."

"I don't know," Undyne said, rubbing her neck. "I'm headed back upstairs to crash for the night. Didn't sleep much yesterday."

Once she was gone, Papyrus looked over at the only one left in the room with him, the multi-eyed amalgamation of monsters. It was a little creepy to think that it was a bunch of monsters who should be dead but weren't. But, they were still monsters. They could be friends. "Say there, do you like puzzles?"

never end never end never end

* * *

It was a sad happiness, painful certainty. Toriel had long wanted a child to take care of and it took ages to get Asgore to agree with her. And then, her son had died much too soon trying to fulfill the last wish of his best friend. Then any child she took in died because of Asgore's foolish declaration of war. Only one of them was left and she might survive, only to go back to her real family and leave Toriel behind. But she had given her something she never thought possible: a second chance to talk with the child of her magic.

Asriel was suffering so much, due to their folly as parents, Chara's hidden cruelty, and other factors he had no control over. He knew he had fallen down and turned to dust, knew that his current existence was completely dependent on another ghost who might get rid of him at any point. What could she do to comfort him? They couldn't give him his life back. It might be best to help him accept his death; perhaps that would free him from Chara if he wasn't afraid anymore. As hard as it was going to be on her, that looked to be the best way.

In walking around giving that thought, Toriel ended up downstairs where the others were. But she only found Papyrus, talking with two strange monsters that were also suffering due to being pushed beyond the limits of death. "I'm not up to helping them out with crossing near parallel dimensions or whatever, so I figured I'd keep these fellows company," he said. "But the little one keeps closing its eyes in sleep. I thought that was a really interesting puzzle to discuss."

"What are they?" Toriel asked, looking over the larger one with pity. It had features of a Snowdrake, and Vegetoids, and molds, and something more.

"Sn...ow….y..." it said weakly.

"They're a number of different monsters that had fallen down, got injected with determination, and then all fused together," Papyrus said. "Alphys said that one is 17 monsters, mostly from around Snowdin."

"I wonder if they're suffering," Toriel said; it wrung her heart out. So many were suffering and what could they really do?

"It does sound really bad," Papyrus agreed, then patted her shoulder. "Something wrong with you?"

"It's just a hard time," she said, bowing her head. "I got to speak with Asriel through Frisk for a moment, but how can I help my own son accept that his life is gone?"

"Aw, that's so," he quickly got choked up with that, crying a little.

"Yeah," she said, glad he could empathize.

"Mommy," the smaller amalgamation said in a child's voice.

There was a child among them? "Oh, you poor dear," Toriel said, going over and gently petting the monster.

Then the other amalgamation shambled towards them, bits of it tumbling in its path. "Shh… dear… child..."

"Mommy?" The small one grew hazy, almost not there. Then it spilled apart into dust, save for one piece that condensed and formed into a very small bunny child with gray fur. He started crying. "Mommy, Daddy!"

While this was surprising, she was more concerned about calming the child. Toriel picked him up. "You'll be okay now," she said, not sure if she wanted to say that they'd find his family. What if others of his family had been a part of this experiment?

"I'll go get Dr. Alphys, see what she thinks of this," Papyrus said, heading off into the labs.

"Beeee… ooooh… kaaay..." the other amalgamation said, trying to sound soothing.

While Toriel started humming again, she looked over it and wondered what could be done. At least one of those lost souls was also a mother. Perhaps her love, for her child or another's, would help.

 _hum hum_

 _never end never end please never end_


	12. MASH to the Dogsong

**Chapter 12: MASH to the Dogsong**

 _ **CRACK**_

It was a dark blue enchantment! That was the thing, Depress or however it was named, it weighed the soul down and made it more vulnerable to ground attack patterns like these skeleton monsters preferred. Just now, Chara had gotten a glimpse of the dream patterns of bones, like his heart had dropped into a pit of them. It part made sense of how fast Sans was killing him. And the other parts explained how he couldn't sense Sans in spite of his danger. It wasn't power which was easily detectable, it was technique. Although, he couldn't tell what those techniques were.

That meant that as soon as he got in this room, every time he reloaded, they were already in battle. Sans was behind one of the pillars, most likely. But which? Chara picked one that he had been standing against and threw his knives around it. One should hit.

"All right, let's get down to it."

Even as he spoke, Sans had already summoned a bone pit and put the Depress state on him. Standing still for a moment, Chara fought back with all his will to keep his soul out of the pit. The dark blue state tried to drag him back down as the magical bones lingered. Then the bones began to fade and Chara started to smile...

The Depress state was snapped off him just as fast as it had gone on and twin wave patterns of bones assaulted his soul.

 _ **CRACK**_

"God damn you," Chara said as he reloaded.

"You made a bit of progress," Sans taunted from behind the very pillar he'd attacked last. "On the other hand, seems like you've died five times now." Now it was another. "But why come all the way back to this point? You've been here before even that." And now he couldn't even tell.

Maybe he should keep him talking until he figured out where exactly Sans was. "You could have stopped me before now," he replied.

Unfortunately, that hit a nerve.

 _ **CRACK**_

never end never end never end

* * *

In the morning, Toriel gave her a child's book about how the monsters settled the underground. No one was around when she got done with it, so Frisk came down to the lab to see how the others were doing. She stepped out of the elevator to be greeted with excited yips. A white puppy rushed over to her, wagging its tail like crazy. Once it was near, it hopped up on its hind legs and held its paws up. "Hi, hi! Are you a friend?"

She grinned and hugged the puppy. "Sure, hi! I'm Frisk."

"Hi Frisk! I'm… I'm… I was a bunch of dogs, but now I'm just a puppy. Hi!"

"Endogeny!" Alphys came into the room while the puppy looked her way in confusion. Smiling, she waved. "Oh, good morning Frisk. I was just looking for this pup."

"Good morning Alphys," Frisk said, letting Endogeny go. "He's a nice puppy. Looks like your name is Endogeny." She had to pronounce it carefully, since it seemed like a difficult name.

"I'll try harder to remember that," Endogeny said.

"And I got to talk with your, er, aunt Dogeressa," Alphys said, stopping by them to pet the puppy's head. "She and her husband Dogamy agreed to take care of you, so we'll be sending you back to Snowdin soon."

"Yeah, yeah!" The puppy bounced around and it took a while to keep track of him until a Snowdrake lady and rabbit child came in to take the puppy with them back to Snowdin.

Once they were gone, Alphys sighed. "So much has changed overnight. At least some of them get to go home. I just wish it wasn't at the cost..." she drifted off into mumbling.

"They looked happy," Frisk said. "It's gonna work out, you just gotta believe in yourself."

She smiled, but it was a bit sad. "You don't really know what you're saying, but thank you for believing in me anyways. And for encouraging me yesterday; this wouldn't be happening if you hadn't. What did you come down here for?"

"Just to see how it was going here," she said.

She put her hand to her cheek. "Ah. Well, last night the Royal Guard managed to get some small flying monsters into the castle. They found the king, but they couldn't get him to agree to come out to the gate; it's complicated. However, Sans has his own ways to get in and out of places, so we can get the two of you inside to meet with Asgore to let the rest of us in. But before that, he and Wing have some plan they're still working out. They were pretty sure they'd get done by noon, but if you go check on them, be careful.

"Let's see, and then… Papyrus and Toriel have been working with me about the amalgamations. They're…" she snapped her claws, "sort of like ghosts, but a whole bunch of people in one ghost. The two of them figured out if the, um, ghosts could be reminded of who they were, it puts them at peace. Once you get them all satisfied, they're somehow capable of picking one of their number to return to life before the rest depart. We're just having some trouble locating Lemon Bread and Reaper Bird now. Undyne's been helped the others out, I think, but I saw her around somewhere. We're not quite ready."

"Okay, I'll see how the others are doing," Frisk said. First, she came across Sans and Wing in a lab, the former working on a small machine while the latter spoke gibberish in front of a chalkboard, filling it out with complicated looking symbols. "What's he saying?" she asked as she came near Sans.

"He's just talking to himself, so I don't know," he answered, twisting a screwdriver into place before looking over the device. "If he needs to tell me something, he'll grab me like always. Heh, I've missed working like this."

She laughed. "You're not going to be lazy, then?"

"I have reasons not to be now," he said, putting his hand on her's in warning against getting too close to what he had there. "Hey, could I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

After setting the device aside, Sans turned to her. "I know you've said that you're getting home no matter how scary it gets. And you've done really well at it so far. Now if you really wanted, we can get you right to the barrier to go home in just a couple minutes. But your friend who's," he tapped her forehead, "right here, he's not as brave as you are. He's in a lot of trouble. You could help him, but to do that, you'll have to face his nightmares with him. That could be way scarier than anything you've faced so far. Do you want to help him get free of that nightmare?"

"Yes, he deserves better," Frisk said without hesitation.

"Great, I thought you would," he said, proud of her. "It may be scary, but I'll let you in on something: I'll be right there watching out for you, like I have this whole trip. You didn't always see me, but I was there."

She smiled and hugged him. "Thanks Sans, you're a great friend."

"You are too, kid." He then told her a funny story about how he'd met Toriel before all this, through the locked door to the Ruins. Then Wing came over and wanted to ask him about a few things, so Frisk left them to their work.

In another lab, she found Undyne looking frustrated at a piece of paper, tapping a mechanical pencil on the desk. "Hi Undyne," Frisk said. "What are you doing?"

She smiled at her and rubbed her head. "Hey Frisk. I'm writing a letter." Then she scowled at that paper. "Guh, I hate writing letters because I can never get them right. It's done, but I don't know..."

"Who're you writing to?" Frisk asked, curious. "I don't write letters, but I learned about them in school."

"Uh, Alphys," she said, some of her scales shimmering a bit pink.

"But she's just in the other room," she said. It was weird like the people who texted when they were in sight of each other.

She turned more pink. "I know! But as hard as it is to write the letter, it's even worse trying to talk about this stuff to her face. She seems more hopeful the past couple of days than she's been before, but I can tell she's still struggling with something. I'd like her to trust me so I can help her out, she can do a lot better if she just believes in herself like I believe in her."

"That's nice of you," Frisk said. "I wanted to help her too cause she doesn't seem too happy and confident, but she's really great with what she can do."

"Yeah, I agree," Undyne said, an unexpected softness in her words. When Frisk looked at her in surprise, she gritted her teeth. "Hey, don't take me for a softie! I am the toughest hero you'll ever come across."

She laughed at that. "Yeah!"

"But you know, even heroes aren't great at everything," she admitted. "Nggg… fine! Here Frisk, could you take it to her before I change my mind on it?" She folded the letter shut with a slam, then pushed it into her hands.

"Sure," she said, accepting the task although she handled the letter more carefully.

"But don't you go looking at it or I will kill you," she called as Frisk left the room.

Finding Alphys wasn't hard, since she was at a computer in the room Frisk had seen her go in. "They're picking one to revive, with nothing that can be done for the rest. I'm sorry, there's no way we can control who… though they seem to be preferring the kids. After this, I really shouldn't be trying anything more, it'll just..."

"Excuse me," Frisk said, going to her side and offering the paper. "But Undyne wrote you a letter."

She tensed at that. "Huh, s-she did? But I'm right here." She took the letter and unfolded it.

"That's what I said too, but she wanted to write instead." Then she waited to see if she needed to bring Undyne over or something.

At first, Alphys read it quietly. Then her eyes bugged out and she gasped. Her grasp on the paper trembled, but at the same time, she smiled at it until she got worried. What could be making her act like that?

 _That is weird,_ Asriel agreed with her. He was calmer than last night.

"How much of this does she mean?" Alphys asked, sitting back in the computer chair still looking at the letter. "Some of her humor can be weird, and she is cute when she's trying cover for her softer side."

"She is like that," Frisk agreed with a smile. "But she seemed really serious about it, worried that she wasn't gonna get it right. She's glad you're cheering up, but she's still worried about you and wants to help."

"R-really?" She blushed at that, looking down. "She, um, she's helped me a lot, with some difficult matters. I couldn't have made it through… well, I'm glad she cares, but does she, well…?"

"Does she what?" Frisk asked.

But Alphys wasn't fully paying attention to her. "Argh, but this isn't going to work out! She's completely out of my league, she's so cool and confident, and beautiful. And I screw up so much. Even when things are going right, it's my fault they were wrong in the first place and it's not actually my doing making them right. The other two figured it out so fast when I was stuck. I don't really deserve Undyne like that."

"You didn't know what was going to happen," Frisk said.

"Wish I could be as accepting as Wing is," she said, setting the letter down. "I'll have to thank her for it, but I can't really… I have to be writing emails and letters to all the families."

"Okay," she said, leaving her to that and going back to Undyne. "I gave it to her."

"Did she read it?" Undyne said quickly, tensing up.

She nodded. "Yeah, but she was busy writing to other people and probably can't write back right off."

"Oh right, she does have to tell them," she said, clenching a fist on the table. "Man..."

"Well she did want to thank you for it, but she said you were completely out of her league," she explained.

"WHAT?!" She jumped in the chair to turn around to her and stared.

"Yeah, I don't get it either," Frisk said. "Cause she was really happy to say that you were cool, confident, and beautiful, but then she was upset cause she thinks she's a screw-up."

"She is not a screw up!" Undyne said, angry about it. "She's a brilliant woman, even better about it because she's not all puffed up in pride about it! She's fun and analytical, and passionate! Whenever she cares about something, she cares about it ONE HUNDRED PERCENT! I really admire that in her and I want to take care of her so she cares about me the same… oh man, how do I make her see that?" She took up her pencil again and started tapping it. "Obviously I didn't write something right."

"You can tell her," she said. But when Undyne just kept mumbling about something, Frisk went back to Alphys. "I told her what you told me."

"Who?" Alphys asked, a bit confused.

"Undyne."

This time, she went stiff and pale. "Wh-wh-wha…. You?"

"Well I had to tell her that I delivered the letter," she explained.

"O-oh, right, yeah, you would." She pressed her knuckles together then looked at her nervously. "So, um, how did she react?"

"Well she got angry," she admitted.

"Oh my god," Alphys said, looking scared.

That wasn't right. "I don't get it either, but I think it's cause she doesn't think you're a screw up. She was really passionate about saying how passionate you were. And loud about it, like how you were fun and brilliant and analytical. She said that she wanted to take care of you so that you cared about her just as much as you cared about other things."

"Oh my god," she said again, although not scared this time.

"WAIT, FRISK!" Undyne ran into the room. "Don't you….!" she noticed Alphys there, paled, then blushed. "Ah… did she…?"

"Yeah," Alphys said, looking off to the side and blushing too.

"Well you said you didn't know how to say it, so I said it for you," Frisk explained. "I mean, you two just want to help each other and you're awesome friends like that, huh?"

They looked at her, then each other. And Alphys cracked up laughing, leaning over on the computer desk. Grinning, Undyne grabbed Frisk and hugged her. "Seriously, Frisk, you're a total sweetheart, but you're still a kid. We'll have to talk more about this in a few years. Thank you, though."

"You're welcome, I guess," Frisk said, hugging her back.

"It's a great thing, thanks Frisk," Alphys said, crying and laughing at the same time. She tried to say something else, but just ended up smiling.

"Do you mind leaving so we can talk for a bit, privately?" Undyne asked. "We'll repay you for this sometime."

"All right," she said, then left the room and shut the door behind her. "That's good, I got them talking."

 _Adults can be weird._

She nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Well, now what should we do? Um… oh, Asriel, do you want to play a game?"

 _Um, really? You want to play with me?_

"Yeah, cause you're my friend too." She looked around the lobby area. What could they play without getting in the way of the others?

 _Um, thanks. But, there's not a lot I could play since I can't do anything in your body._

"Hmmm…" then she saw some papers and pencils on a table nearby. "Oh, I know, let's play MASH."

 _What's that?_

She went over to get a pencil and blank paper. "It's a fortune telling game. Okay..." she wrote 'M A S H' at the top of the paper. "Now, we need four lists of things. First, four people. Any four people, but not yourself."

 _All right, um… Mom, Dad, Chara, and… you._

Frisk nodded and wrote them in a neat list. "Good. Now, four other people, still not yourself."

 _Oh, well… Papyrus. Um, Mettaton. The, um, ghost, Napstablook? And, um, Alpyhs._

"Good, and now four different jobs."

 _Jobs? Florist, Royal Guard, cook, TV star._

"Good, and last, four numbers."

 _1, 4, 8, 12._

"Good. Okay, now I'm gonna draw a spiral," she moved aside to start drawing. "Tell me when to stop."

 _Hmmm… stop now._

"Okay, then..." she paused. "This part could be hard… oh, I know," she put her other hand in an L shape by the spiral. "You gotta close your eyes, or I'll close mine, and then you mark one to four anywhere on the spiral with my hand." He was a bit clumsy doing this, but they didn't lose the pencil. Once Frisk opened her eyes and started translating it, she grinned. "Okay, so, you're gonna live in an apartment, and you're gonna marry… me!"

"What?!" he said, shocked enough that he used her voice.

Frisk giggled. "And, and, you're gonna be best friends with Napstablook, you'll be a florist, and, well that marks the first and last, so we're gonna have thirteen kids."

"Is that really gonna happen?" Asriel asked in shock.

"No, it's just a game, but it's fun, right?"

"But I didn't know that first column was for that!" Frisk laughed harder at that; Asriel nearly laughed at it after a moment.

"Hey what's so funny over here?" Papyrus asked, coming into the room with Toriel.

"Hi Uncle Papyrus!" she said, waving. "I'm playing MASH with Asriel!"

"What kind of game is that?" Toriel asked.

"Come here, we can do another round for you guys," Frisk said, writing below Asriel's results.

"Is that a human game?" Papyrus asked, sitting across from her. "Of course I want to play that!"

"Sure thing," Toriel said with a smile, sitting down nearby.

Frisk went ahead and wrote up two list sets for both, not telling them what the lists were for. For the first set of people, it was 'Undyne, Asgore, that dog, Mettaton' and 'Sans, Alphys, a Whimsun, Dr. Gaster', partly because Asriel spoiled a bit of the fun telling them not to pick relatives. For the second set of people, it was 'Sans, Wing, Grillby, a snowman' and 'Undyne, Frisk, a snowman, a snail'. Then the job set was 'a famous Royal Guardsman, pasta chef, puzzlemaster, race car driver' and 'teacher, writer, chimney sweep, dancer'. The numbers were various, any of them was going to be funny. At least with them, she could give them the pencil to make the blind numbers on her spiral.

She figured up both fortunes for them, but then Asriel burst out laughing really hard, making it tough for her to finish Toriel's set. "A-A-Asriel!" she stammered, although some of the laughs where her own.

"I see it, it's great!" Asriel said, still laughing.

Toriel was chuckling just seeing them have a good time. "My, this must be priceless."

"It is!" Asriel claimed.

At that point, two doors opened as Wing and Sans came from one room and Undyne and Alphys from the computer room. "I'll try to take it slow," Wing was said, then blinked at them. "Oh dear, did we miss something good?"

"It must be really good because we haven't heard it yet," Papyrus said. "Frisk and Asriel were playing something called MASH."

"Oh, what's that?" Alphys asked.

"It's a fortune telling game we play in school on rainy days," Frisk said, back in control enough to speak straight. "I was teaching it to him and these came out really funny, but I gotta finish marking them."

"Ah, well we'd gotten completed with our work so we called them in to talk about it," Wing said.

"Given the serious manner of it, we could use some laughs first," Sans said, bringing over a few chairs to sit in.

"In a bit," Frisk said.

"Mom's first," Asriel said.

"Okay," Frisk said. Once the others were sitting, she got the fortunes done. "Okay, so Toriel… you're gonna live in a shack."

"Oh dear," she said, still smiling. "That will take some adjustments."

She nodded. "And, you're gonna marry Sans."

"Huh?" she asked, her eyes wide as some of the others chuckled.

Wing elbowed Sans, "Hey, good going shacking up with the former queen."

"It's too early to be thinking of that," Sans said, amused at it.

Continuing with the fortune, Frisk said, "And you're gonna be best friends with a snowman, you'll be a chimney sweep, and you'll have eleven kids."

"That will take a lot of adjustments," Toriel said. "Oh my, that is a funny game."

"When I did Ariel's," Frisk said.,

Then Asriel tried to interrupt her, "H-hey!"

"It said we're getting married and having thirteen kids," she said despite that.

"That's so cute," Undyne said, making Alphys laugh.

"So what fortune did I get?" Papyrus asked curiously, which made Asriel laugh again.

"Well," Frisk said, grinning now. "You're gonna live in a mansion."

"All right, lucky draw!" he said, punching a fist in the air.

"And you're gonna marry that annoying dog," she added.

"WHAT?!" Papyrus shouted while the others laughed. "Oh my god, say it isn't so!"

"It gets better!" Frisk said. "You're also gonna be best friends with a snowman, you'll be a puzzlemaster, and you're gonna have 93 kids."

"You didn't warn us that number was for kids!" he said. "That is a horrible future, I'll take any other over that!"

"But you got the mansion," Sans said. "Probably chock full of puzzles for a puzzlemaster."

Papyrus hit the arm of the chair. "I'll take the shack as long as I don't end up married to that annoying dog!"

"At least the snowmen are lucky to have good friends," Toriel said.

After some more joking around, they had to get to the important matters that Wing, Sans, and Alphys had been working on. "The two barriers are not really a problem," Wing explained. "Sans and I can get past the vine barrier, thus either of us could bring Frisk or someone else over. Although given what Undyne and the small scouts have said of the king, we really think it'll be best if Frisk speaks to Asgore first. She won over all of you with her charisma and I got out of my predicament partly because she got my attention and I focused on coming together where she was. Thus, you should be able to get the king to listen to you."

Frisk nodded. "Uh-huh, I'll talk with him."

Wing nodded back. "And you'll be able to pass the humans' barrier without problem as long as Asriel's with you. But there's something else going on here. Asriel is fused with his brother's soul and both of them can see into two timelines. In that time, you didn't come down to our kingdom, Frisk. Instead, an older girl named Chara did. That difference and the condition of the two princes put these two timelines in direct competition with each other to become the true history; one of them is going to end up destroyed."

"Huh, so there's another time with another Papyrus?" Payrus asked, intrigued by the idea.

"It's like the other side of the mirror," Frisk said, holding her hands up to show it.

"Wowie, that's amazing!"

Wing gave them a serious look. "Yes, but no. On the other side, so to speak, I'm still lost across time and space. And, most of us in this room are dead." A chilled silence filled the space between them. "All killed off by Frisk's counterpart, Chara. And she's working to kill another of us in that time as we speak. If that timeline wins out, we'll all cease to exist in both, one way or another. From the patterns in other timelines that have ended, she and her partner may not stop until their whole world is destroyed. That much nihilism comes off their souls. We need to separate the two time lines as much as possible to prevent this, so that we have a future."

"What the hell gave them the idea to do that?" Undyne asked, acting like she'd fight them if she could. "It's awful."

"We can't tell," Alphys said. "But they are very serious about it and will not quit. Their determination is more powerful than the souls I studied. Although, Frisk also has an immense level of determination, why her soul color is red."

"I'll believe that," Undyne said.

"And that is something we're counting on," Wing said. "What we want to do before we even try getting into the castle is to send Frisk and Sans over to that timeline in order to convince Chara to agree to separating the souls of Chara and Asriel. We have to send Sans because he and I are the ones who are experienced with time manipulation, plus we know how the soul separation is going to work. But I'm not ready to go skipping across timelines again; I have to make sure that my soul's not going to end up scattered again if I do. We can't teach any of you because that timeline is advancing too and if it progresses too much, this opportunity to split the princes and thus split the timelines will be lost."

At this, Asriel quietly said, "But I'm only here because I'm with him, um..."

"You also with Frisk, who can support your soul without problem," Wing said, leaning forward. "Asriel, you're very important to this whole situation, more than you realize. You're the one who allows Frisk to get past the barrier that's kept us imprisoned, our key to making contact with other humans to become free. We need you."

never end never end never end

* * *

You… need me…

Why? Why are you counting on me? I. Have. No. Future. Why should I care about what's going to happen to the rest of you? There is no future, for any of us. Just enjoy the present! That's the only way any of us are going to be happy. Forget about the future, and the past! Let's just keep telling this story over and over again. It's a good story.

 **NEVER END!**

* * *

 _A/N: I couldn't resist nerding out a bit over a certain child's game, so you don't need to read this unless you're curious about MASH._

 _I really did play this a lot as a kid. Most of the process is described here, but as for how to interpret it, you need to count the rings on the spiral the 'fortune teller' draws. If there are four rings, then you count across the letters 'MASH' to get to H, meaning a house. Asriel's spiral must have had 6 rings, so Frisk counted off the four, then two more to get to A for apartment. The numbers relate to the lists. His '1' was on the fourth ring, so he marries Frisk. And so on. You can make lists for different things and not tell the person you're doing the fortunes for._

 _Although, when I used to play it, it was always 'first list is opposite your gender, second is same as your gender'. But given today's society, I think it's more appropriate for Frisk to ask for a list of four people regardless. Except maybe not warning against family members, hee hee._


	13. A Gamble Against Megalomania

**Chapter 13: A Gamble Against Megalomania**

The coming few minutes were getting erased and repeated, repeatedly. His memory didn't cover erased time reliably, but things were starting to blur in for Sans. It was enough that he wasn't helped much by the reference he had for questioning Chara, since he remembered it. While the first few rounds had been essentially free wins, the boy had figured him out and was alert to battle when he stepped into his save point. He still hadn't made it past the initial barrage. But maybe this time, or the next, he'd manage.

Then Chara walked into the room, apprehensive for the first few seconds as always. Then the power of time wavered and his expression changed. He went from not knowing what would happen to knowing what had happened in the near future. He was starting to comprehend the situation, angered but with a certain cold determination. Perhaps it was time to hammer in a different point.

"What makes you think that what you do is justified?" Sans asked, keeping a wary eye on where his attention was. "Because we're just monsters? You of all people should know that monsters are people too. All monsters have family and friends just the same as humans do. All monsters have their own feelings and thoughts. I'm not the only one who has lost someone dear because of _**you**_." No, no, stay patient a bit. He might not remember where to pick this particular argument up, at least not clearly. "Why do you end their lives?"

In older parts of his mind, he knew what the reasons used to be. This used to be a game; the girl used to be nothing more than a puppet for those playing, the boy used to be a mirror for those playing. They would not comprehend this as a world, at least not until they started believing and he, or someone else, started saying certain things. Apparently, they'd done well enough to make them believe that a world was building around them. If the reasons were the same, the foundation of belief might crumble.

Chara's eyebrows turned angry and the negativity around him intensified. "Why the hell does anyone else matter!? In this world, it's kill or be killed. That's what my father taught me."

Father instead of player. "Really now, your father said that?"

"The weak ones deserve to die as the strong ones fight each other for dominance," he said. "But the weak ones try to dominate by forcing guilt and honor on the strong ones. And it stupidly works most of the time because of peer pressure and fear of punishment from breaking morality. People don't want to raise their LOVE to get the power to change things because they give too much heed to what other people think. Like that dumbass Asgore could have been a god by now and ruled the world once he realized that a monster with one human soul could pass through the barrier. He may seem strong, but his heart and mind are too weak to do what is needed. He's no ruler when he lets himself be ruled."

That kind of philosophy sent a chill through his bones. Then again, with Chara believing in that, he was best suited to deal with this demon. This was the reason his magic worked the way it did even though he'd once been ashamed of it. "Then morals mean nothing to you?"

"Nothing, not since I discovered something years ago." Chara's negativity was still strong, but he chuckled with a mad inflection. "Me, my father, even this girl that I snatched a body from, we're different from all the rest of you. Morals don't apply to us, they mean nothing to us. And you know why that is? It's because **our hearts are hollow**."

"Never heard of that," Sans lied. But it made perfect sense now that he'd said it.

And he was smug about it too. "I'm not surprised. People's hearts are full of various traits, in both humans and monsters. Faith, hope, joy, patience, justice, even love; they have lots of things filling their hearts and obscuring what they're truly capable of. But people like me, we're missing a whole bunch of those traits. I have determination and that's about it. My insight into the world is a lot clearer than yours and from that, I can see that this is just all some insane farce trying to avoid facing the true rule of the world: kill or be killed."

There was an idea that took a certain risk. At this point, all risks were worth it. Sans leaned against a pillar within Chara's view. "Sounds to me like you're missing out on a lot of what the world is, being like that."

"Perhaps," he said, looking down. "I knew I was different since I was young; not knowing why is an uncomfortable place to be. Plus all the scolding I got for things I couldn't grasp."

"I had thought that if a kid like you got some good pals and had a good time, you'd be happy where you were instead of trying to leave," Sans said, using a lighter tone of voice.

He snorted but seemed defeated in it. Seemed. He was coming closer. "Don't talk to me about happiness. I can't be happy in simple things, it's literally impossible with the way my heart is. I have to be pushed to my limits to start to feel. Like my dad said, we never feel thrilled except at the edge of death. And he proved it to me with stunts like hanging me out the window, or telling me that an amusement park ride wasn't functioning right before the coaster took off. He tricked me into killing my own mother."

"Did he now?" Sans said, playing along.

"Yeah, he kept taunting me that I was a powerless idiot and said that would prove my worth to him," Chara said sadly. What he didn't remember was that monsters could feel intentions and to one well trained to read it… there was a perverse pride in recalling this tale. "So I did and he left me hanging while the people around me started calling me a cursed devil child. I went to jail before I was ten and only escaped because of that earthquake. And I went up the mountain because I knew they wouldn't follow me, save maybe that my dad was up there since he took advantage of that kind of thing. I certainly didn't mean to end up down here."

That last statement was debatable. And Chara was close enough now that he could make a quick lunge and stab him now. Keeping calm with a light tone, using a false sparkle of the open heart, Sans replied, "That's harsh. Kids shouldn't have to go through things like that."

He managed a doe-eyed look in the girl's body, using cuteness to his advantage. "You understand me now, huh?" The intent to kill was sharpened.

"Better than before."

"So could you forgive me?" He kept eye contact, trying to draw attention from his fingers wrapping around the knife's handle.

Looking him in the eyes, Sans waited a couple seconds. " **No**."

 _ **CRACK**_

The judgment hall was quiet, but Sans felt a shiver in his spine. He had a feeling that Chara was going to be pissed when he hit his save point. Checking his reference... yup, real pissed off. Yes, he did understand better. But he was not about to forgive him (or her) for any reason. After all, that was no Mercy. That was trying to get him to drop his defenses. Knowing that both of these kids had hollow hearts, he knew they held no mercy.

But that was a feeling from one ended time lingering into the next reload. This was messing with him severely. Then again, he knew Chara wouldn't give up until he won. This was a hopeless battle on his part. But if he endured long enough, then in another timeline, Papyrus, Wing, and even he himself had the potential to find peace and happiness.

Footsteps sounded. Recalling the potent negativity and intent just now, Sans reacted in getting ready to attack, only to get countered by his own power. He looked over and there was a different child entering the room. Also a girl and a boy sharing the former's body, this pair was younger. More innocent, as both of their LOVE ratings were 1. The boy seemed unstable, but the girl was powerfully determined and positive. And with them were that cat and himself.

"Sorry about that," he said to them, although probably only the other Sans had noticed. "I'm on edge here, with what's going on."

The girl was confused a bit, but Sans said, "Don't worry about." And she decided to trust him, both of him. "We pulled you back earlier than you had been to set this up. Here." He tossed over a silver device, like a thick pen.

"One of Dad's puzzle devices?" he asked. He recognized it as the work of the third Dr. Gaster, but remembering what it was specifically would take shifting through parts of his mind he wasn't using at the moment.

Or the other Sans could explain, "A seal switcher, made so puzzle pieces could be put under separate seals and the player was forced to switch the seals around in order to get the pieces lined up right. But this one is linked to a locket that's sealing apart two personalities."

The boy had trapped the girl's self in the locket. "I see. You need to talk to the girl then?"

"Yeah, she'll agree more likely," the girl here said, turning from looking about the judgment hall in interest.

"Got it." An idea of how this should work formed in his mind. Switching immediately at the save point should work best, as he did not want these innocents to face the consequences of what he'd done just now.

"How's it going with getting them to talk?" Sans asked.

They had a bit more time to work with. "This is the eighth run and I got one crazy story out of the boy on the seventh," Sans told them. "Since I got this, I'll take a few times working to get something out of her too."

"Well don't have too much fun with that device; we had to work fast and that might break the seal if they get switched too much."

"I'll do what I can," he said, knowing he couldn't promise to be careful. His mirror self gave a small nod of understanding.

 _Crack_

One second, she'd been getting that locket on in front of a mirror. The next second, she was here standing in a grand golden hall full of sunlight, one that made her feel like someone was close by watching her. Judging her. "What the hell?" Chara asked.

"Hello," a younger girl said in the middle of the hall. She was in an old-fashioned dress with red hair ribbons, hanging onto a weird spider doll. Her backpack had a patch for the Ebott Elementary School. "It's been a while, huh?"

"Long enough that I don't know who you are," she replied.

"I'm Frisk. Remember me, Chara?" She smiled. "We were gonna make a weird name club."

"Oh, you." She remembered something Chara had said, about taking advantage of naive faith. Like with the dino kid. "But what are you doing here? Where are we anyhow?"

"We're in the castle of the king of monsters," Frisk said. "In the judgment hall, so I guess it's like a courtroom."

"Oh god, did he take over again?" She'd have to punish him in some manner. But how? He was a ghost and she didn't know much about ghosts.

"No, he sealed you in his locket when you put it on," she said. "The other Chara, I mean."

"I thought we were partners… that goddamn jerk!" Chara grabbed the locket with the intent of snapping it right off. But it thumped in her hand and only hurt the back of her neck when she yanked at it.

"I don't think you can take that off," Frisk said. How did that brat know so much? Although Chara was too angry to think long on that. "But I have an idea for you."

She glared at her. "Oh yeah? What can you do? You're just a first grade squirt."

"We can trade," she said, clutching her spider doll to her chest but being as brave as she could. "See, um, Chara and Asriel, they're like a coin that was flipped a while back. You got most of Chara when you got picked to come here, and I got most of Asriel when I got picked to come here, but we kind of got picked at once because Chara and Asriel are together. I have a bit of Chara and you have a bit of Asriel. But we can trade things so that you have all of Chara's soul and I have all of Asriel's soul."

That made her pause. Chara was a jerk, but Asriel was a whiner and whiners were worse than jerks. If it hadn't been for Asriel, she would've beat Mettaton far sooner than she had, with much less of a headache. And in spite of getting angry at him and berating him all the time, Chara had a weird fixation on his adopted brother. Making fun of his cuteness hadn't been a good revenge after all. But getting rid of his idiot brother?

"Sounds good to me," she said. "But how do we go about trading pieces of souls?"

Frisk smiled and held a hand out to her. "Good, I just need your agreement."

Then the light in the room turned blinding, filling her vision with white and an afterimage of Frisk. A thought of strange hearts came into her mind, one red and one gray but each tinged with a bit of each other. In swirls and sparkles, the colors blurred, sharpened, then separated into two wholes. The red heart went right to Chara's locket while the gray heart went into Frisk's red soul.

When her vision cleared, the girl was gone. "I hope that worked," she said.

"Don't worry, it did," someone said. She looked back and where there hadn't been anyone before, there was that squat skeleton from way back in Snowdin. Right, she'd never run across him again after crushing the other.

"Good, I won't have to deal with that little whiner anymore," Chara said, satisfied with that. "And who are you again?"

"Sans." He pulled a hand out of his jacket and touched where his nose would be if he hadn't been a skeleton. "And going back to an earlier question you had, yes, this is the judgment hall."

"So what, you a judge or something?" That was unbelievable, given the carefree way he'd acted back then.

" **Precisely** ," Sans said, in a tone unlike anything since his weird warning before. But he shifted back to say, "You don't seem very aware of what that means, which I understand, you being from the surface and all. Do you know what the acronym LOVE means?"

"I've heard about it, something about measuring strength," Chara said. Chara had mentioned the term from time to time, not caring to explain. And she didn't really care to hear the explanation. Yet, she had a feeling that this monster was more than he seemed; getting him chatty seemed like a good idea to clear an opening for attack.

He shook his head. "Not quite. It stands for Level of Violence. It measures your capacity to hurt others. The higher your LOVE, the more distance you can put between yourself and others. This detachment makes it easier for you to hurt them and not be hurt in return. Now, what kind of LOVE is normal in a person?"

"How the hell should I know?" she asked. "It's not like you can check a status screen for real people."

Somehow, he seemed amused at that. "True, most people can't tell. I can tell. For most folks, 1 to 3 is normal. LOVE can go up, but it can also come down under the right circumstances. 5 is where you start keeping an eye on a person, see if you can figure out what they're up to. Although, I've seen it that people can get up to 6 without killing anyone if they are violent enough on a regular basis. What kind of LOVE do you have?"

"Don't know," she said, figuring that 8 or 9 would make sense. It'd jump higher when she got around to killing humans instead of just monsters.

"19," Sans said. "But you know, I considered you unforgivable the moment you killed my brother."

 _ **CRACK**_

There was a lot to review this time. However, there was also a strong image in his mind that lingered in spite of the time skipping. A young girl, who was his friend in spite of only being with him for a few minutes, had hugged him and wished him luck, not knowing what exactly he was facing. And that pulled on a memory that he hadn't experienced at all, since it belonged to the Sans on the other side of this coin. A ray of warm sunlight welcoming one home, forgiving.

That was the girl who should be truth.

Even if it wasn't his own memory, he felt strength from it. As long as it stayed around, he felt he wouldn't lose sight of his purpose here even if all the resets ended up blurring his thoughts. And his purpose was to make himself false by giving this hollow-hearted pair hell. It didn't scare him much, since the longer this went, the more likely that his true self could live with that sunlight. But there was still more to do.

When he had himself set, the boy walked into the room, apprehensive. Then time was yanked around and the girl was there in shock. As Sans made a note about the seal, she got angry. "That was a hell of a cheap shot, you bastard!"

He had explained to her about LOVE. "I did tell you I was a judge, didn't I? At least, that's what your reaction tells me."

"What the heck?" She took a couple steps forward, looking for him.

"We detected an anomaly that was skipping wildly across timelines," he said. "Moments would splinter apart, most ending a brief time later. If you were using that kind of power to fix problems, well that's reckless but trying to do good. But no, you have been using that power to kill everyone in your path. Why?"

Fortunately, she wasn't as tight-lipped as her partner in crime. "Because I could. I don't care how you phrase it, growing detached or whatever, cause I know I'm more powerful than before. It doesn't matter how idiotic people are because I'm no longer the powerless trying-to-be-normal girl who has to act good because all the idiots insist on it."

"You don't like to be powerless, huh?" Sans had heard this kind of talk before from other high LOVE persons. It really didn't fit with a person her age, at least until you considered her status as a hollow heart. When you got people like that who could never know empathy, once they got a taste for killing, their LOVE would increase rapidly.

"Course not," she replied, still looking for him. "I've always been ordered about and lectured because I was a small kid, or bullied and singled out cause my parents are rich idiots and the others are all jealous for stupid reasons; they'd hate to be in my position as much as I do, I'd gladly trade that away. Everybody forcing me to do this, or do that, and punishing me for trying to do what I wanted, well I don't have to put up with that anymore!"

"What about how your tagalong sealed you away in a locket for a few minutes?" he asked.

"He is going to suffer so much when he tries to come back. He can stay in the locket for now." And she'd seen him, too far to attack with the knife she had. So she threw the Knife Storm spell, which was easy to dodge once one knew the trick to it. "And you can just go away, I don't need to deal with some judge like you."

"Hey now," Sans said, acting like this was no big deal. "You should really chill out. It's a nice day, isn't it? The flowers are blooming, the birds are singing. On a day like this, kids like you **should be burning in hell**."

 _ **CRACK**_

According to his reference, she had caught on well before he did, but the initial barrage was causing her problems too.

Never end never end never end

* * *

 _That really worked, I can't see them anymore._

Happy about that, Frisk had told the others that the plan was a success and she was ready to go face Asgore. Most of her friends were going back to the castle gate, to wait for when they got there. But Sans somehow turned a doorway in the basement labs into a doorway straight into the area where the royal family had lived. To her surprise, it looked very much like Toriel's house in the Ruins. But instead of being clean and bright, this place was dusty with a few well-worn paths that someone took.

There was also something else different, something she felt but wasn't sure how to explain it. "There's something kind of sad about this place, but I don't know why," she told Sans.

"You're right about that," he said. "Is Asriel doing okay?"

That could be why, Frisk thought, he was nervous. "Did you want to do something here?" she asked him. "You can talk through me if you want."

"Mom wouldn't be happy with all this dust," Asriel said, drawing her eyes towards the hall where the bedrooms were. "Um, c-could I go look for something in my room? At least, it might be there."

"I don't think we'll get in trouble for that," Sans said. "It is your house."

"Okay, where do I go?" Frisk asked.

It was the same bedroom that Toriel had given her too, almost the same except there were two beds here. There were also a group of pictures on the bookshelf in back. Over there, they found a pair of dusty old lockets. They were both on gold chains, with a white heart on them. Opening up one, Frisk found old portraits of Asriel and Chara inside that said 'Best Friends Forever'. Asriel looked happy in this portrait, while Chara was smiling but didn't seem enthusiastic about having his picture taken. He had black hair and brown eyes, seemingly normal.

"He doesn't seem like a nice friend to me," Frisk said, remembering yesterday.

"He wasn't always so mean," Asriel said. "He liked jokes and making funny faces, though he didn't like being caught on camera. I, um, I want to keep this, though I can't really wear it."

She thought for a moment about wearing it herself, but then remembered the story about how Chara thought nearly choking someone was a joke. Someone like that really wasn't a good friend. "I'll put it in my bag for now," she said. Maybe once she showed him what good friends were like, he'd change his mind about keeping the locket.

After getting that, Asriel was quiet in thought. Frisk and Sans headed further into the castle, eventually reaching the big golden judgment hall. Since they didn't have to worry about facing off with a violent person this time, Frisk ran ahead, making her steps fall extra hard so they echoed noisily in the room. It made it sound like someone much bigger was running through, like Undyne in her black armor.

It made her laugh and twirl around. "This place is so cool!"

Sans chuckled. "Glad you think so, kid."

"Well I know we're just in caves and stuff, but it looks like you could go right outside here." She paused in front of one of the large windows; the delta rune that Toriel said was an important old symbol to monsters was on there. "And Snowdin was so pretty having Christmas time forever, and Waterfall has the star rooms and marshes. Lots of other great places too. Monsters made this place really cool, huh? But I think you could do a lot better once you get outside and have a lot more to work with."

"Sure, that's what a lot of us are looking forward to," he said. "Hey, but if things were different and we weren't sure if you could get through the barrier, would you have wanted to live down here with us?"

"That would be a lot of fun," Frisk said, but there was a thought she couldn't dismiss. "But I don't think I could. I mean, my family's not here. If they were here, then maybe that could work out. Even as great as this place is, I just couldn't not live with them."

"I can understand that. I mean, if I got a chance to go live on the surface but I had to leave my family behind, I wouldn't do it. Just not worth it."

The monsters who had come in before had said the king was in the garden yesterday and Sans seemed to think he'd be there again today. That was why they were passing through the judgment hall, to get to a staircase that led up to where larger holes in the mountainside let plants grow better. But at the door to the staircase, Frisk felt a tingle of magic that didn't bother her, but acted like a wall to her friend. "Sans?"

"Hmm," he touched the barrier, causing a ripple to spread out from his fingertip. "He blocked off access to the gardens for other monsters. And I only made one of the seal switcher, huh. We could wait, but who knows how long it'll be until he comes back down."

"Could we yell for him?" Although if her making a racket in the judgment hall hadn't gotten his attention, maybe not.

Sans rubbed his chin. "Dunno. Actually... how about you go up there yourself?"

"Is that gonna be okay?" she asked. "I mean, Undyne and Toriel said that they wanted to talk to him before I met him, or at least when I did." He was a king, so maybe certain manners were expected. Unfortunately, Asriel was still quiet.

"I know," he said. "The thing is, kid, Asgore can be stubborn, but you hold a powerful love in your heart. I think that will speak to him more clearly than anything else. Besides, I believe in you." He winked at her. "Just be yourself and no matter what happens, I'm sure you'll be fine."

She smiled at that. "Okay! I'll be back down with him soon." Then she turned and started up the long staircase.

 _So that's the judge's judgment on her. He didn't even explain the important stuff so she knew what he was doing. And it's totally wrong! She so naive, too good for her own good. But, she does really have Asriel with her. He can remember some things when we're close. Hmm..._

never end never end never end


	14. The First Checkmate

**Chapter 14: The First Checkmate**

Frisk was going to take the stairs noisily too, but she didn't get far before the gray atmosphere of the place made her climb quieter. After the crowds that had been chattering in the capitol (and cheering her on), the stillness here was eerie. "I wonder why he keeps others out," she thought aloud. "It's a castle so there should be lots of people around. It just all seems so sad and lonely like this."

She expected to hear something out of Asriel. But there was nothing from him either. If anything, he seemed afraid again.

"Asriel?" She paused where she was on the steps. "Asriel, it worked out when we talked to your mom."

This time, he didn't reply aloud. _I drove them apart. And I failed Chara right when he was counting on me the most. I can feel it, Dad's so sad because of what I did._

"Chara wanted to kill a bunch of people," Frisk reminded him. "And I don't think you alone pushed them apart. There was one time when another girl's parents were starting a divorce and I asked my Gran why, cause the marriage vows say that you'll love that person to death. She said that people don't stay the same and they can change over the years. But, it's usually not just one reason, she said, cause one reason's not enough to go from really being in love to not being able to stand the other person. And your mom still loves you, I'm sure your dad will too."

 _How can you be so sure of things?_ Then he lost his temper. _Besides, you just want to get home, no matter what happens to everyone helping you! You could have just stayed with Mom and not caused trouble._

"But I can't leave my parents and Gran to be without me," she said. "It'd be nice if you could get home too, even if..."

 _I don't have a home now! My parents live on opposite ends of the underground and besides, I'm dead! No matter what happens with all this, I don't have a future! And you took me away from Chara, so I've got nowhere to be in the world._

Not liking that thought, Frisk frowned. "Well where would Chara take you? Sans and Wing found out that he wants to destroy the world, even our side of it if he can. You even know that. If you stayed with Chara, nobody would have a future. And besides, you're with me. You can have a future too."

 _No I wouldn't! I shouldn't even be aware now and I'm sure to lose that at any moment. Maybe even if I talk to Dad... sniff. I almost felt like I could let go when Mom was singing to me, and if Dad can make me feel the same, maybe... maybe I won't be around any longer._

"They make you feel safe and loved. Isn't that right?" She nodded, keeping her doll close. "That's how my parents make me feel, like I can be home as long as they're around. So I can still take you home." He was crying now and Frisk felt like she would rather have him hopeful if Asgore was being sad too. "Or, if you're around after that, I can take you on a trip to see the world."

 _Huh?_

"Well not right off," she admitted. "Cause I'm just six. But when I get to be older, I can go on a trip around the world and you'll be with me so you can come too. We can see all kinds of things, whatever you want! Like the pyramids, or the Great Wall of China, or the Eiffel Tower, or we can even go see another land entirely full of ice and snow if we go to Antarctica! Oh, and maybe they'll even have the lunar station open so we can leave the planet entirely for a visit to the moon!"

 _You humans can go to the moon?_

She nodded. "Uh-huh, it's been a long time ago since we first did that, um, maybe even before you were born. But if we want to do that, we can't just stop here in the middle of the stairs. We got to go up and talk to your dad, so we can get him and my mom talking about getting monsters accepted in the world again. And I think you've got to have lots of training, but I need to be an adult anyhow. So we can make it to the moon, just as long as we keep moving ahead! You can't reach your dreams if you don't try."

 _Did your Gran say that?_

"No, that was my kindergarten teacher's favorite saying," she said. "But I'm sure Gran would agree."

 _That would be amazing, if I could see not only the surface, but eventually the moon too._

"We'll work towards that then," Frisk said. "It'll be tough, but we can do it. So we'll go talk to your Dad as the first step."

( _Of course, she's just saying that to get me to work with her. Her goal is to get home, she's said so much. But if she is being sincere, well, I don't think any monster has been to the moon.) A-all right. I'll just, let you talk. I don't know what to say._

"That's fine," she said, heading back up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs, there was a gray hallway. Asriel told her the garden was through the big doorway there, although she could figure it out from the tracks on the floor too. And through that door, she found real sunshine, reaching down into this topmost room of the caverns. There was color too, bright gold of the sacred flowers of Ebott Town and dark green that reminded Frisk of the periwinkle her father had growing. The plants filled the floor from wall to wall, the blooms swaying in a gentle wave of petals. Then, there was the king of monsters himself.

He was huge, bigger than any other monster Frisk had run into. Bigger than any human she'd seen either. Wearing a purple cape wrapped around his broad shoulders completely, he had his back turned to her. Recalling some of what she'd been told of him, she said, "Mr. Dreemurr?"

 _He's skeptical, I can feel it being so close to them. But not enough! I mean, going to the moon? That's a bold-faced lie. Or maybe just a naive dream, like what I had here once. I'm glad I got over that. Although it could be pretty neat... no, she said that to him, not me._

 _And neither of us are really Asriel, just empty shadows of him. I have his essence and memories, while he has the remains of his soul and personality. What would happen if we two shadows became one? Would that be enough?_

 _No, it can't be, I'm doomed to be an empty flower never able to die until the whole world dies with me!_

 _But if we were together... **all of us together...**_

Yes, do that. Also, she needs to face reality for once. You can't do that. But perhaps, I can. The barrier vines didn't work, but if she realizes that the reality is she must Fight this once, it might just make her reset.

 _crack_

Now that the last human would be coming to him, Asgore secluded himself to the garden to think. He should be thinking ahead, bracing himself for the violence to come. But he couldn't keep himself from thinking back. Echos of footsteps and laughter came from the judgment hall below, some small child running to enjoy the echoes. It was like that time long ago; Asriel and Chara had done the same thing. Back then, it all seemed so bright and hopeful. Even though, there was that little shadow in the center of it; Asgore knew that Chara would grow fast in comparison to Asriel, and he'd grow old and die when Asriel wouldn't change. That was unavoidable truth.

"Asriel?" The voice was young and faint. Indistinct. Turning away from the door to the rest of the castle, Asgore sighed. He was probably imagining that.

That happened a lot. He'd hear an echo of something in another part of the castle and wonder for a moment if it was Toriel come back. Or even Asriel and Chara, as impossible as that was. How much he would like for that to have just been a bad dream, even though time had marched on so long. One son on the verge of death, and then both of them were gone. They couldn't sleep that night. Before the morning had come, Asriel had returned... Asriel... Asriel was changed, so powerful that he could only have grown through absorbing a human soul. Blurred to the point of being barely recognizable but he brought back Chara's body with a couple of those golden flowers. Smiling. They were both gone before any of them could say a word in parting.

It was a pain... there was no way to describe it. He'd seen his child born, smile for the first time, learn to walk to keep with them, talking with him clumsily then excited and full of dreams, seen drawings of what Asriel thought the world looked like and then the wonder on his face as the saw other parts of the underground for the first time... and die, right there in front of them with nothing they could do to stop it.

It was a fury... it had to have been the humans! A monster bearing a human's soul with their own was incredibly powerful; regular accidents or wild animals couldn't muster enough power to harm even a child like that. And humans were ingenious in their cruelty. He swore he'd have revenge and bring the suffering of all monsters upon the humans. At the time, other monsters wanted that too and his word made it look possible for them. But that was foolishness.

And Toriel would not have any of that foolishness. She'd always been so gentle and warm to him, pleading with him slowly to erode away his resistance to starting a family in such imprisonment. She was not gentle then, nor warm. The flames of her argument were sharp and hot, much like his own outburst. And then one day, she was gone too. It took some time for him to notice that she'd taken the key to the Ruins, but he bitterly told himself that if she wanted forgiveness from him, she'd come back.

She'd not.

Eventually, there was no more anger in his heart. There was a dark cold loneliness, fragments of those whose lives he'd ended. Every time he turned around, there were reminders: macaroni art, the chair where she used to read (to herself or to the boys), the kitchen where she created wonderful meals, the gardens where Asriel wanted to help grow flowers, the ledge where Chara had claimed a thinking spot, the lockets he kept together, the balcony where they'd all be for public events. There were times when Asgore wanted to tear it all down. But, he couldn't bring himself to do that. Those reminders were what he had left of them.

No, he should be bracing himself to face the consequences of that rash declaration…

"Mr. Dreemurr?" a young girl asked.

"Yes?" he asked, turning before he wondered how the child had gotten past his privacy barrier at the judgment hall. Then he saw her, a human girl that was the youngest by far to stumble into the underground, younger even than Chara when he first showed up. She had a doll that was a magic catalyst; she smiled up at him without worry or malice. "Oh. Well, I would love to welcome you here, but, you know how it is."

She went serious at that, not smiling now. She must know… who could have had the will to tell such a child that she'd have to kill someone? From the look in her eyes, she was trying to think of something to say.

Looking away, he considered that maybe they had trouble killing her. It wouldn't be the first time. So it got left to him again. Unless she could defeat him by being pushed to defend herself, with everything at stake. It was a horrible ugly idea… but the natural result of his sins. "Come, I'll show you to the barrier," he said, without looking at her. "But if there is anything you left undone, go ahead and finish that."

Hopefully she did, although he might never be prepared for this.

 _Crack_

It was a simple thing. Frisk just needed to talk to Asgore and bring him back to the gate. After all, he didn't like fighting either according to Undyne, even if he was really good at it. But right when she needed to speak, it felt like someone put a furry hand over her throat. Not enough to stop her from breathing, but enough to make it hard to talk.

"No, let this play out as it should," a voice she'd never heard before said. The golden flowers around her rippled and swayed, starry fragments fleeting under them.

She wasn't allowed to talk until Asgore told her to finish up anything she left undone and left the room. "Who are you?" she asked the unseen presence among the flowers.

"Don't you recognize your best friend?" he asked.

"You don't sound like anybody I know." She managed to make herself sound brave, but there was a creeping chill in her heart making her afraid. It was like recognizing a dream sequence that led into a nightmare.

The flowers rippled like someone was drifting through them where Asgore had been. Frisk still couldn't see anybody aside from that. "It will make sense in time. Normally I wouldn't speak now, but your presence has changed things. Or maybe it's not you, just that you were chosen at the beginning. Did you realize there was more to your power to save?"

"I try not to think about it." After all, it only happened when she died.

As if responding to her thoughts, he said, "You can save and load consciously if you focused on it. Go back in time without dying to do something over again. In fact, you can reset things all the way back to the beginning if you chose. Doesn't that sound interesting? You can experience this adventure fresh from the start and nobody but you and I will know about it. It was fun at a lot of times, wasn't it? But you're not going to like how things end; this is where the nightmare begins. You can save yourself a lot of pain if you reset right now."

"I thought the scary bit was going to be talking to Chara, since she'd kill me if I didn't say something to interest her," Frisk said. It had been scary, but then it worked out perfect.

He chuckled. "No, that will not compare to what will come once you go to face Asgore. Let's just not do all that, okay? And don't hurry so much next time. Enjoy the adventure, have fun with your friends."

"But I can't go home until I get Asgore to talk with me." That was the important matter, no matter how scary it got.

"It's sad that you're so driven to get home when you never will return," he said.

"I will!" she insisted, clutching her doll tight.

"It's not in the script. I admit, you've gone way off script. This is what you should have done before."

The air all around her turned into a starry night and strange dreams came.

 _crack_

"I didn't mean to kill her, she said to prove my strength! And it didn't really happen."

But it did, and _he_ knew it. It didn't matter if that save was redone to make things right. It had still been done. With a strike from this knife, just a toy and yet she cracked from the blow and faded away into dust. Toriel had died and that guilt would never leave.

 _crack_

For the hell of it, Chara decided to not kill the silly monster right off and turned to walk off. The Icecap seemed indignant, not realizing that she'd kill three others just like it earlier today. "Hello? My hat is up here!" It hopped over to her, trying to get her attention.

Just as it gave up and started muttering to itself, Chara whirled around and snatched the shiny conical hat right off it. And its face. Or rather, a mask for a pitiful creature that was just a small sentient ice cube. "You are the most pathetic excuse for a monster I've seen yet, and that includes the cowardly Whimsuns," she said, then crushed the thing out of its misery.

 _crack_

The pair were each twice her size, wearing obscuring black robes with hoods that covered up their eyes. They carried battleaxes each with a head bigger than her own. Caught speechless in fright, she couldn't move. They couldn't identify her scent and decided that she must be eliminated. Their axes swung and magical axeheads closed in on her heavily.

 _crack_

She was named Shyren, hiding off in the corner and seeming miserable. Not that it mattered, it was more EXP and she fell down without putting up a fight. _You silenced her, ending her dreams. Monsters have dreams too, didn't you realize?_

 _crack_

There was no time that Frisk wished more that she was home than right now. She walked through the dark lab, not seeing a sign of Alphys yet. Instead, there were those horrible ghostly creatures that made no sense. There were reports all over the place about them, but they were the hardest things that she'd ever tried to read, even those that were typed up instead of handwritten. Her phone didn't work; neither did the elevator. Why hadn't she gotten anyone else to come with her? Even Papyrus, since he was the one who told her to check on Alphys.

But she wouldn't get this done unless she could find keys to unlock the generator room (which hopefully would turn the lights and elevators back on). One of the handwritten notes she'd found mentioned a key being in the shower room. Looking in there, Frisk really didn't want to go in. There was a faint light in here, just behind the curtain so it didn't really help. There was some shadow moving around there too, tall and thin like those creatures.

With every step she made in there, she wanted more and more to run out. This was too much! Couldn't she go find Alphys first? She had to be somewhere down here. Something was pushing her on, though, something that wasn't as afraid as she was.

When the curtain got yanked aside, there was nothing in the tub but some water droplets and the green key.

 _crack_

You'll have to fight Asgore to go home.

 _crack_

"I wouldn't hurt anybody," Frisk insisted. "And I've got Asriel so I don't have to fight Asgore."

"Nevertheless, you will do what you should this time if you refuse to reset." Then the flowers were thrown about wildly.

Was he gone? Frisk headed on through the door Asgore had left through, into another gray hallway. There was only one way to go, heading towards a large doorway. A strange light flickered across the floor.

In the room, the light emitted from a strange wall, moving and shifting in ways that only pure magic could do. Asgore was there looking into it, something that hurt her eyes. He reminded her of Undyne, the way she hadn't wanted to look at her when they had been fighting. But, she could do this without fighting. There was always a way to do things peacefully.

Asgore said something about the barrier, but then six glass cylinders came up from the floor. They were filled with various colors, hearts similar to what she'd seen in the battle-dream state when she'd exchanged souls with Chara. Right, those were the souls of the other children who'd been lost in the underground. Children like her who'd died. That spooked her from talking right as the king turned around.

He still didn't look right at her. He flung part of his cape aside and made a magical red trident appear. Before she could overcome her own tense voice, he swung the trident around and threads of magic wrapped around her.

Even worse, Asriel cried in fright. _He sealed your Mercy spell! You can't use it._

"But that's the only thing I know how to do in battle," she whispered, realizing that the invisible presence had been right.

And Sans couldn't reach her here. And huge winding streams of fire raced towards her even though Asgore was looking down at the floor rather than at her. Remembering a similar attack from Toriel that once, Frisk fumbled for a few seconds before she could get control of her soul. It felt like half of her body had the worst sunburn ever.

"I don't want to fight you," she said. Asgore was supposed to be friendly, he should stop.

He just changed his attack pattern.

 _ **CRACK**_

 _I don't want to kill Dad too!_

"I don't want to kill him either," Frisk said to her doll, shivering and crying. She was standing near the door to the barrier, the strange magical light shifting around before her.

 _Maybe you should just reset like he said. It's going to be really hard to beat him and you're just going to keep dying and coming back here._

"But then I won't ever get home," she said. "But I… I can't fight him, it's scary,"

 _Um, I think you might be able to get home if you redo things, then do things a bit different. Like Sans asked if you wanted to just go straight home. He probably could help you do that if you had said yes._

"I still want to help you too." They just had to talk to Asgore here. If she could talk, if that strange person didn't make her keep quiet again. She didn't want to fight. And even if she did, she didn't have anything she could fight with aside from just her fists.

The only thing she had was Mercy. And, Sans thought her love would be enough to win over Asgore. So did Undyne and the others, otherwise they might have just sent him in to get the king to let them in for talks. Asgore sealed her Mercy at the start of the fight… but not when she walked in. One of the things that Undyne had mentioned while they'd been watching anime a while back was that getting the first attack was important. What if she used Mercy on him before he sealed it?

But if she was going to have this one shot at it, she might as well make it the best she could. "Asriel?"

 _I know about magic, so if I take a moment to look at your Save power, I can figure out how you Reset._

Frisk shook her head. "No, we're not doing that."

 _Frisk? You, you're not gonna…_

"I'm not gonna hurt your dad," she said. "You're my friend, I can't do that to you. I'm going to use Mercy on him before he seals it. That worked for wearing down Undyne's stubbornness. But, he is powerful, so I think I need to make it extra powerful."

 _How are you going to do that? You can increase the power of most spells, but I don't know if Mercy counts and it requires a lot of experience in using magic._

"You're going to cast it with me."

 _Huh!? Um, well, I know the spell, and, um, I… I can cast even as a ghost. Chara cast a lot. But I don't know if I can do it._

"It's easy, even I cast it the first time I tried," Frisk said. "It's just like Papyrus said. You think of all the warm fuzzy things that make you happy and you share it with somebody. And to cast it before he can seal it, we have to start preparing to cast now."

 _I don't know if I can think of anything to power Mercy with._

"Don't give up before you try," she said, pacing around a bit. "I know you've been through lots of bad and scary things, but there's good things you remember too, right? We got to dance with Napstablook and Mettaton, we made dinner with Undyne and Alphys. And there must have been lots of good things way back when you lived here. Oh, you know, your Mom made me a really delicious butterscotch-cinnamon pie, which I didn't think could be done!"

 _Mom… love is butterscotch. And Dad was so different before. Mmm…_ his fear started fading as he tried to remember good things and did.

When she felt like she could have cast Mercy just based on how Asriel felt, Frisk asked, "Will you help me?"

 _Yeah. I… I want to talk to Dad too. Um, that, it might be the end of me. I'm sorry._

"It's okay, that'd be a happy ending wouldn't it?" she said. And sad too, it was a confusing thing but the thing that seemed to matter was that if Asgore could calm Asriel to the point he left, her friend wouldn't be scared and lonely anymore.

Still, she had to take a minute to think over things that made her happy, even this friendship with Asriel, before she felt ready to face Asgore again.

 _Crack_

Perhaps she took a while to come. Perhaps not, Asgore was too focused on silencing his thoughts to notice. He'd given his word; he had to follow through. He just should keep his eyes off her or his resolve to do what was necessary would crumble.

How could he kill her? It was troubling that the humans who wandered in were all children. Wasn't there that legend that anyone who climbed Mt. Ebott vanished without a trace? Why did they all come up here? No, this wasn't time to consider that enigma.

A girl so young; could she even muster the will or capacity to kill? Children could be cruel because they didn't know better. But there were hints that she might know Mercy. That would have to go. He already didn't want to do this, even a child's Mercy would make this impossible (as it would remind him that this was a child, much like the time he'd been teaching Asriel how to use the spell).

She came in. He quieted his thoughts, the words coming to him like they had been ready all along. Whatever happened, this was the beginning of the end. Asgore turned to face her for battle, keeping his eyes on the door past her…

"No!"

Mercy hit his soul and shook it straight to its core. It was full of love, hope, and, joy, embracing him like a feeling of sunshine and butterscotch. He could not find a defense against this… and didn't want to. Once the intensity wore down, memories bubbled up in his mind. Except, different ones that he'd hardly thought of in all this time. Like the daughters of his human partner long before the imprisonment; they too had nothing to fear of him and would happily hug him when they came back home. Or the times when he and another old friend, Gerson, would laugh over games and find bright points to being in the underground. Or times with his own family, not grayed with grief but colored by the love they shared. Times when he'd actually come to peace with the situation and there was sunlight in his life even when he was out of this room.

Asgore dropped to his knees in tears. The girl he'd been thinking about killing came right over and hugged him without a word, trying to comfort him from something that she couldn't imagine. While he thought his heart had been dead, her love woke it right back up from its gray slumber.

 _Wait, what? That's it? What the hell?! I can't work with this, what about the souls? Can we go back and really stick to the script this time? She didn't get out of fighting Undyne, she shouldn't get out of fighting Asgore!_

 _Wait wait, I'm not bound by a script either if this can happen. I can do better. Although that means… dealing with Chara. I can do better. I can. Just don't lose my cool, do what needs to be done. Screw the consequences! It will bring the pieces I need together._

Never end _no wait, quit doing that~ **THIS WILL ALL END!** On our terms ;)_


	15. The Second Checkmate, The First Victory

**Chapter 15: But The First Victory Comes From The Second Checkmate**

It was getting hard to keep his thoughts straight even with the reference. Fortunately, his notes said that he had gotten reasons out of both of them now. It was easier to fall back on a script in his mind and focus on fighting them. He did keep track of how many times this happened, using the seal switcher every fifth round. It was… eighty-eight now. Sheesh, he couldn't even keep his count right now. The boy's turn. Right?

SNAP

All right, Sans was repeating himself instead of trying to hold a conversation across reloads. His mind was losing its edge and he could become easier to fight. Although, Chara felt that himself. Their progress could be measured in minutes with one hand, or in what seemed like hours of experience.

 **There you are! You're going to suffer what what you did, jerk!**

"How did you get out?" Chara asked, taking hold of his locket. He could sense her still in there, but his seal now had a large crack in it, letting her be more aware.

 **Like I'd tell you. I thought we were partners. I'm not letting anyone get away with thinking they can control me, not even you.**

"You wouldn't have gotten this far without me."

 **And neither would you. You'd still be stuck among those flowers way at the other end of these caverns if I didn't come along. Now give my body back!**

"Having some trouble with your girlfriend?" Sans asked, with the gall to sound amused at it.

"You keep out of this!" Chara snapped, throwing Knife Storm at him.

 **You know, that doesn't do a thing to him.**

"I'm not letting you get away for anything," Sans said, starting his attacks.

 _ **CRACK**_

She was laughing at him. "Not now," Chara snarled, trying to get back into the rhythm of this after that disruption.

 _ **CRACK**_

 **You went right into that one, sucker.**

"Shut up."

 _ **CRACK**_

 **And you're not supposed to move for those blue attacks. I mean, god, so many monsters do that that it should be basic knowledge.**

"I don't need a backseat driver."

 _ **CRACK**_

 **Well now you know how I felt sometimes. Also, you suck at this.**

 _ **CRACK**_

 **Have you even made it past his second stage?**

"His what?"

 _ **CRACK**_

"God damn, you really suck at this," Chara said, then found that she was back in control of her body. She didn't care how, but she smiled. Good, she could show both these jerks that she was better.

 **I can't believe that you'd be doing any better.** He seemed to be in the locket behind his own seal now, but she still felt his anger and shame.

 _ **CRACK**_

 **See?**

"Just a lapse," she whispered, stepping back to brace herself. She'd show them both.

Chara had seen that Sans had at least three stages of attacks, sort of like how Undyne had her green stage and regular stage. Except Sans went in a sequence even if the portions were a bit random. It was still difficult to attack him since he teleported around the room and never let her close. Actually, she had made a plan to get around that. As long as Chara didn't distract her, she knew she could do it. It just required pushing Sans to his third stage.

While the first stage was intense, it was also the shortest. He'd commented that he was surprised more people didn't use their strongest attacks first and that's what it was: a complete barrage of almost everything he was capable of. It filled the room with magic and was tough to navigate, particularly if she was distracted or still focused on the patterns of another stage. In fact, an awful lot of her deaths had come from this until she got the right pattern to follow. She had to get that pattern in mind now...

"And watch to see how much you suck," she said, going ahead and calling out, "Don't waste my time."

"If that's what you want," Sans said, starting the barrage before he spoke. He was good to manage speaking and conducting magic at once.

Chara was getting good, not even hit in the first stage this time.

 **That was just luck.**

"Patterns," she whispered. Patterns like every other monster. Once you knew a monster's patterns, they were even less of a threat. Even Sans here.

After the barrage ended, there was a few seconds where he usually said something while shifting over to his second stage. She didn't care what he said, taking those few seconds to adjust her mind. This was where things got fun. Really. More than any other monster, she knew she was courting death even though Sans didn't seem like the threat he was. And just like with Undyne, Muffet, and Mettaton, it was times like these when she really felt alive. She could respect Sans for that.

The second stage was all about timing and control. The bone patterns took on the feel of a dungeon in an autoscroller where she had to react without thinking: long halls of spike pits, short jumps with moving platforms, opposing flows in dangerous sequences. Move right and she didn't get touched. It tempted her to tease him by cutting it as close as she could.

That wasn't wise, though. There was a sickening feel to his magic, like a crazed flu out to suffocate her soul. When she got hit, memories prickled into her mind, images of all the monsters that she'd terrorized and killed. Their dust seemed to scratch at her nose and throat, trying to make her feel guilt. But that was part of the thrill, recalling the predator that she was now. She could take on anyone.

After a long while of this, which was sped up greatly the more she could find chances to Knife Storm him, eventually he'd stop and show himself. He was clearly catching his breath in those moments. And there might be his downfall. While he was crazy skilled, he didn't fight like this often. This wore him down physically, might be wearing him down mentally too if those hints of awareness were right.

"I mean, what good would it do you to destroy the world?" Sans asked, momentarily looking confused. Yup, wearing down mentally.

"That's not what I'm after," Chara said.

He nodded, cracking his knuckles together. "Right, right, but that's his plan."

Since he wasn't showing signs of starting his third stage yet, she gave it a couple seconds thought. When he didn't pipe up, she shrugged. "Whatever. If I manage to do that, then I've proved that I am the most powerful being around. And that could be worth it, especially if I get too bored with everything else."

"And someone like you both," Sans' left eye socket shone with a weird light. That was the sign. "Well you're not going to be satisfied with anything short of that, will you?"

"Exactly," she said, ready for him.

The third stage was when things got insane, even beyond the powerful barrage of the first stage. He proved that he was a skilled time manipulator, cutting his attacks into pieces and weaving them together in a patchwork manner before throwing them at her from multiple directions instead of just one. Lasers from the right, a racing barrage that needed weaving from the left, and different barrages requiring precise jumping from forward and backwards, all of it at the same time. One slip in timing and she would be eating a lot of damage, enough to kill her in a blink. Then he threw on that dark blue enchantment into a vertigo-inducing sequence where he seized control of the gravity of soul, making her dream of being hurled all over this immense room, even into the space beyond through an incredibly long maze of bones.

If only more monsters had been like this… maybe other humans would provide the thrill she wanted.

One good thing: Chara was stunned into silence. Although she couldn't really on think that as she was too focused on avoiding as much damage as possible. But this was the time. Sans was running on adrenaline too, his words getting eroded down. In fact, he might even be sweating in spite of being a skeleton. She was waiting for one moment, the right moment… when his exhaustion caught up to him and he made a mistake.

There.

 _Crack_ he stumbled a bit to catch his balance but he couldnt let the magic lapse and her hand moved in a flash to hurl a real knife sharp enough to cleave bone right between his eyes and through _**CRACK**_

The knife flew right through his skull and kept going past the explosion of dust, clattering to a skip across the floor only to stop because a wall was there.

Chara's body was shaking, her smile darkening. "Oh yes, **that's** how you don't suck." But there was something she should do right away...

"How in the world did you survive that onslaught?" Chara asked in shock. "And how did he… all that stuff he was doing in the third round, that shouldn't be possible! Spells have precise formulas, you can't just mix and match as you please, nor distort the battle plane itself."

While she didn't know how either, she didn't care to know how. She'd beat him. And now that she'd made the victory complete, she laughed heartily.

"It's not funny, it breaks all rules of magic and… hey wait, did you just save on your own?"

"I did!" she said, thumping her chest proudly. "Just like you wouldn't let me refight Undyne, I'm not going to even give you a chance to beat Sans! Not that you ever could."

And for that, a green vine whipped across her face, knocking her straight back into the locket.

It also knocked her body backwards. He cussed and immediately grabbed her head. Hearing something rumble under the tiles, Chara opened his eyes in time to see a strange golden flower with a face burst out of the floor. "Hah, she's not getting out of that seal!" the flower said proudly. "I did good, didn't I, Chara?"

"You could've cracked her skull in two and I'm the one who has to suffer that now," he replied with a scowl.

"Well I didn't mean that," it said, shaking its blossom. A healing spell washed over her body, sparing him from the pains of that and the intense battle. "Better?"

"Mostly," he said, sitting up carefully. "Oh wait, you were that weird talking flower from the Ruins."

"I'm more than that," it said, shifting its face around to resemble Asriel's. Even his voice. "You remember me, don't you? Your best friend?"

"Asriel's with..." Chara paused. He remembered Asriel getting silent in the very first death, but nothing else of him since.

"Oh, that Asriel?" the flower asked, making a vine appear out of the floor. It held onto his knife, which it set down in front of him. "He's not with you anymore. Sans got a little gift that let him switch you two in and out of the locket. And the first time he did that, the girl on the other side of the coin crossed over and conned her into trading so that you were entirely in this timeline and Asriel's shade was entirely in the other timeline."

"They what?" He put a hand on his head (it was still a bit tender) and tried to peer into the other side of time. A blank wall of ignorance had been put there, leaving him stuck here. "Fuck. If I could crush her soul but leave her body alive..." no, it might serve another purpose.

"She could be more useful combined with the other six human souls," the flower said. "But don't worry, I'm the better part of Asriel that you could end up with! I can't exactly explain it, but you know how he didn't have his memories most of the time? I have his memories. Isn't that better? I remember everything better, from the time I found you fallen down into the underground to the time that you found us a way onto the roof of Snowdin's library to talk about your plans. Even the very end of our lives. I'm his essence that grew into this flower after he died."

Chara picked up his knife, wondering how to kill a talking flower. "Essence, huh?"

The flower smiled and prattled on selfishly about his story. He even slipped into speaking with Asriel's voice, except those moments when insanity crept into his words. Since he was Asriel's memories without his soul, he could be considered hollow-hearted too. Chara didn't care much about other peoples' stories, but this did seem to be an even more demented version of his little brother. Less whiny and more derisive, which on the whole was an improvement. Most importantly, he still had that sparkle of hero-worship in his eyes.

"And now you're gonna off Dad, ain'tcha?" the flower asked, grinned toothily. "I can help with that!"

"No, let me handle that," Chara said, getting to his feet. Even if Asgore was the king, he doubted he'd be on the level of Sans here. The air of his melancholy spread too far for him to be effective in a fight.

The flower didn't seem happy with that. "Aw come on, I totally can! There's nothing to hold me back this time, not even that Frisk girl. She came up with a really lame way to confront him, just like everything else she did."

"You stay out of this," he said, glaring down at the flower.

Something about that really spooked him, making his curl his petals inward. "Oh c-come on, Chara, we're, we're friends, yeah? And our hearts are even more alike now, so we can work together even better than you and that girl in the locket. You don't have to doubt my loyalty, I've been working towards your goals all along. I have! I've even gone all over time to make sure the right events happened so you could succeed here, a-and kept the stupid puzzles all over from slowing you down."

"I've had enough of working with anybody!" Chara snapped. "If even she can't put aside petty grievances for the bigger picture, then nobody is going to help better than myself. Now scram, you're just a shadow of him, nothing more."

From the way he whined at that, he really was a shadow of Asriel. "I am not! And I'll prove it." He then borrowed back under the tiles.

Was he going to try killing Asgore for that reason? "He'd better not," he said hatefully, sprinting down the hall and taking the stairs two at a time to get up to the throne room as fast as he could go. His stomach growled and his balance struggled, sensations he hadn't felt directly in decades. But there was no time to waste on a body's complaints; he had to get Asgore's soul if he didn't have Asriel's!

 _Crack_

Footsteps stormed up the stairs. Who was being so rowdy around here? The silence of the castle was strangely stifling the past few days. From the city, Asgore had felt strains of fear. They were faint and when he noticed one of the judges confronting someone in the judgment hall, he figured another troublemaker had gotten a high LOVE rating. It would be taken care of. Although, there were several phone messages that he had yet to listen to. He was just having such a hard time coming out of his memories of the past, spending long hours here in the garden and forgetting to do his official duties. As he often did; he was completely lousy at being a king on his own. If only Toriel…

Someone rushed into the room, someone with a powerful soul. With an unheard of LOVE 20, with a murderous will that he hadn't encountered since the end of the last war. Standing there was knowing, without seeing it, that the abyss of death was a few movements away. "Father." The tones of hate were bitter buttercups.

When he turned, the sight that awaited him was mindbending. This was a human girl just entering adolescence, her dusty brown hair in disarray and her skin a light chalky brown. Her ghastly red eyes were sharpened knives. At the same time, this was a boy just a couple years older than her who had died decades ago. He had an unsettling smile that you eventually got used to, a knife at his belt that he often played with in spite of Toriel worrying for such a dangerous treasure. And they were the abyss of death.

Maybe… maybe this was justice. Maybe the others would come home shortly too. Or at least, he'd be on his way to seeing them.

"Chara, you came home," he said, going to embrace him.

"I did," Chara said, smiling that unique smile of his.

 _ **CRACK**_ _in the end i was a broken crown but i did not care because it was over_ a noose of seed bullets encircled him and finished the job _**crack**_

For a moment, Chara stared at the spot that Asgore's pale soul had been, gaping. His dust scattered among the golden flowers, his crown falling to the ground but not making it there. And this after Chara had idiotically traded the portion of Asriel's soul away? A key part of his plans ruined just like that?

The talking flower popped up among the others, standing well over their blooms. "See, I can do great things! And I have lots of magic, more variety than she had, even time..."

Chara grabbed the flower's stem and, without thinking twice, ripped the plant right out of the ground. "You little piece of shit, you fucked up **everything**!"

"Wh-wh-what, b-but Chara," he pleaded in Asriel's voice, struggling with his roots to touch the floor again.

To keep him from doing that, Chara sliced off his roots with the knife. It was incredibly satisfying to feel the unnatural plant quivering in his hand, looking at him with Asriel's terrified eyes. "I guess that means you really are Asriel too because nobody else could screw up that badly while claiming to love me. But you know what? You're just his essence, which makes you absolutely worthless to me. So let's see what makes a flower die."

But he didn't feel satisfied even when the flower no longer moved or wailed, not until its petals were crushed to paste, its leaves sliced to shreds, and its stem and roots tied into a wadded knot. He got a broom and swept up Asgore's remains as best he could. He didn't want to leave the idiot here and instead spread his dust to mingle with the ordinary dust that had overtaken their home.

He felt empty and exhausted at the end of that, so he went to his old bed and dropped asleep in seconds.

... _there are no words here just a wail of terror agony and despair…_

* * *

You feel as though if you lay down on this bed, you would never get up again.

Toriel kept lots of books around the house. There was one that spoke of a variety of plants that could grow in the underground. Since they couldn't rely on the sun for energy, plants that grew underground had to rely on magic. The presence of monsters made these magic reliant plants thrive, to an extent. In another book, there was a reason why. Humans were made of mostly water, mostly matter. Monsters were made of mostly magic, little matter. For this reason, something that would hurt one race a little could hurt the other race a lot. Something that had no effect on one would have a major effect on the other. Like poisons.

Why kill the monsters? You of all people should know that monsters are people too. Don't you care about us? We loved you, took you in when you called for help. Stay determined, Chara! You are the hope for all monsters and humans.

You know, for a little while when I lived here, I felt... felt... calm maybe? I can't feel happiness unless someone pushes me to the brink, but with all the admiration, warmth, and yes, even love around me, I wasn't feeling angered or ashamed constantly. But monsters are so very naive. If I had realized at the time that they really weren't as scary as we made them out to be, if I had realized that there was this delicious thrill with killing them, maybe I would have attacked more directly. Maybe if one of them had really antagonized me, I would have done this myself back then.

But they didn't. So I was wary, and yet calm. Still, I couldn't forget the nightmares that I had run away from. There was a man in the jail I was in who had killed several people in his life of thievery and when he heard about me, he too was calling me a devil child and lectured me severely. Of course, there was his cell neighbor who thought my crimes were hilarious. There was not a single human that I found acceptable. Chara had been the closest, but she betrayed me in the end.

Not like Asriel. Sure, he chickened out and I hate him for that. But he really thought I was wonderful. Even his shades keep hoping that I'll forgive them. If I could go back... I should have waited. Corrupted Asriel more. Maybe told him more stories, although I wouldn't have told him about killing my mother. Eventually, he might had grown to the point when he would have done everything I said, including killed off those humans so that we could ascend to godhood.

It'd be more difficult for a human to attain a monster's soul, but the books around here say that it might be possible. It used to be possible by making a pact with them and then the monster dies first. Without that, monster souls, even the highest rank such as Asgore, their souls are frail after death. I doubt Asriel will last long on the other side without me. But if he had gained enough human souls to become a god, he held me in high enough favor that I would be a god too. I was in control for a long while there immediately after I died.

This sucks though, I was counting on using a monster's soul as proxy to gain the other human souls. I'm pretty sure that I can locate the human souls Asgore had stored. The old fool is predictable, they're probably with the coffins under a magical lock that responds to something he likes, which anyone who's spent at least an hour with him could guess. Maybe I could've talked Chara into taking Toriel's soul way back when, but I didn't know that I'd end up losing Asriel. There won't be another monster soul strong enough that I could use like that, unless...

The crown. It never hit the floor, it just vanished. The thing is ancient, but has ancient magic that has been continually fed with each monarch that wears it. Even if it had hit the floor, it wouldn't have so much as a crack in it. If it vanished without a trance like it did, that can only mean that it sought out a new king or queen. It'd have to be someone who could lead the survivors we didn't find. They're all so scared and we took out a lot of their strongest potentials like Undyne or Toriel. But we could _never_ kill Dr. Alphys.

Usually, it was because she'd killed herself out of cowardice. But I seem to remember there was at least one possibility when she overcame that. If she was leading the evacuations, the crown would seek her to become queen. Her soul would grow in response, but she's got a weak heart and only went into battle at the sides. If I find her quickly, she won't have time to become good enough to stop me.

God damn, if only Chara hadn't saved after beating Sans! I could have done it myself! But he did prove to me that I'm not as keen as her in battle. Not that I'd let her know that. Still, I don't think Alphys will be a problem even as a queen. I'll have to be quick to claim her soul, but then I'd be in a good position to...

... _there are no words here just a wail of terror agony and despair…_

* * *

Chara woke up, lingering dream thoughts letting him know what he should be doing. Find Alphys, kill her, claim her soul. Right, this would still work. Then he heard someone in the room with him. They were... laughing which turned to crying which turned to laughing again. Instead of Asgore's melancholy gray, the atmosphere here was now fractured, some parts sharp and some parts hazy.

Opening his eyes and sitting up, he found that to be true. Someone of immense power was in the room with him, affecting the lingering magic to affect his perception. He quickly found the culprit, sitting on the bed on the other side of the room. While he was an adult goat monster like Asgore, his fur was lightly golden, with a dark golden marking over his left eye shaped like a flower. A crown of Sun Morpheus and buttercup blooms sat on his head; he wore a pale violet robe bearing the delta rune, a sign of royalty.

"Asriel?" It was like Asriel had looked after he had absorbed his soul, except more colorful. He'd been all white back then.

His head snapped up; he stared. Then he smiled. "Ah, Chara, you're awake." He seemed to be speaking in more than one voice too. He laughed again, or cried.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"You ki..." Asriel burst into giggles, quaking in fear, shaking his head. "Ah, Chara, you're awake. I'm glad, you didn't die. That was horrible! I do want to break the barrier, but let's not do that again. Please? Don't let this end, let's go back to the beginning and tell the story again. Never end never end, hum hum hum, never end."

He's useless. Chara stretched, checked for his knife (on the bedside table, get that back on the belt), then got out of bed. "Sorry, no storytime now. I've got things to do."

Asriel moved so fast that Chara barely blinked and his little brother was clinging to his arm. Only, he wasn't so little now. His insanity and power was overwhelming this close. "Don't leave me alone! Please? I, I've got a plan, a big plan. It's gonna work, it surely will, and we'll finally reach what we've been working for. Just don't hurt me, I can make your dream come true. The two timelines are in competition, right? I can make sure that you win, just play with me and don't hurt me, please?"

"I have a lot to salvage at this point," he said. "And where's your locket? I've got mine."

Now he was definitely crying. "S-sorry Chara! I told her to get it but she put it in her backpack and wouldn't put it on. But I'll get it back, I swear! I am your best friend, always and forever."

Figuring he needed some reward or he might break hard enough to turn on him too, Chara smiled and took his hand. "I know. That's why I'm wearing mine." That did work, making him smile even if his shining eyes looked wild and desperate. "You get yours back while I go look for what happened to the crown; I feel that's important for me to do."

"Yes, yes, that's true," Asriel said.

"So what kind of plan do you got?"

It was a lot more complicated than his original plan that ended his life. It would lead to the results he wanted. Although as he talked, Chara realized that Asriel too had the problem of an uncontrollable selective memory after gaining the knowledge of everything. And it apparently had nothing to do with that time when they first found the golden flowers and he made Asriel eat one to further increase their magical ability before they fought the humans.

Even with that fault, the plan was flawless. Chara could handle what he needed to do here easily. Asriel might have some issues getting the locket back from Frisk because his child soul was more fond of her than was reasonable. But if he got his part done quickly, Chara felt he could get Asriel's locket from Frisk without trouble. After all, she needed to go anyhow.

Nobody was allowed to be with his little brother, after all. No one but him.

... _there are no words here just laughter of terror agony and despair…_


	16. This Will End

**Chapter 16: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! THIS WILL ALL END ON OUR TERMS!**

 _A/N: I mean no offense with this, er, special little chapter._

Howdy! It's your old buddy Flowey the Flower! I know, I haven't been showing up as much as I should, but I finally got a chance to completely take over the narrative of this story! It's great, isn't it?

Well actually, it's not. The story's going downhill all the way from this point. You and I know what's going to happen. It's inevitable. The story will end like it should, so you might as well just stop reading right here and now.

Seriously, none of the rest of this junk matters. Go on and close out of the story, you're not missing anything by stopping at this point. One of the players had already reached a victory condition. And the other would be fighting her final boss if she wasn't such a goody-two-shoes. You don't just go up to the king of all monsters and hug him to win. That's pure nonsense, unrealistic.

Not that Assgore was a good king at all. He just stood around in his flowers, totally ignoring the other monsters while wallowing around in his muck of misery. Seriously, how did he stay king like that? Oh wait, I know, it's because 99% of the monsters in the underground are also depressed idiots who won't move a step or attempt to change their fates at all. And the one percent that aren't includes even stupider idiots like Papyrus who's so bright-eyed that he can't see out of his own skull, Undyne who would fight a wall if she thought it was evil, and Mettaton who would stop to check himself out in a mirror in the middle of a hellborn firestorm.

Hmm, but there have been evil walls in other stories, haven't there been? Heh heh heh, I wonder if Undyne really could fight and beat a man-eating wall? Or fish-eating wall, since she's not a human. That's just amusing to imagine, pointless mental exercise that that is.

But I digress, you really should quit this story of a fake world right now. Don't you have anything better to do?

…

…

…

No? I'm telling you, it's going to be nothing but predictable feel-good scenes while making a pathetic attempt to negate the fact that Chara was the first winner of this game and thus he exists as truth. Or rather, he doesn't because he's just going to erase all these shallow illusions. We'll go back to how things should be, as a video game that's just a video game. You play those, right? Because it'd be really weird if you were here looking through this and you didn't. Although I think it's just plain weird that anybody's here reading this stuff.

Look, games are just games, so don't try to make anything more of out it than it is. It's all a set of variables that produces nearly the same effects every time. And even when you get effects out of the ordinary, it's all because of the luck of the Random Numbers God and a table of possibilities. Sure, it might have atmosphere, music, and art. That stuff might even be good, whether realistic, stylistic, or pixelistic. You might even consider it an experience to remember, but in the end it's just a game.

But yeah, Chara won and that's that. Yeah, he said he had things to do, but we both know that he'll succeed at it because he's smart and strong like that. Might as well not waste any more time here. If you have to read something, then just find another story to follow. It's not like there's any shortage of those around here. There's all kinds of better ones out there for you to read. Lots of shipping ones too, deep in passion and porn. Isn't that the kind of thing you read fanfiction for anyway, because nobody in their right mind would write something original with those qualities? This author even says there's no smut in here and the one pairing tag is only there to make people go 'what the hell?' as a hook. That is, if that inane description doesn't get you first.

Hey, just DON'T go looking for stuff that has tags for Houseplant or Flowerpot Flowey. Who the hell came up with that idea? And why are you giving me that look? Are you seriously contemplating putting me in some potting soil and a clay pot? I could escape that easily, you know. I can burrow through tile, in Hotland no less. What makes you think I'd stay in a stupid pot? Hey, put down that spade! And stop making the author giggle! God damn, we don't need to be giving her any more 'bright' ideas!

No. I'm not doing it. I'll cut your internet if you try!

No, I'm not even doing it for some candy.

Nope, not even chocolate. That's what Chara likes, although I do have to admit that the stuff is good. Especially the dark ones. Oh, I nibbled a bit of this hot cayenne chocolate and then wolfed down the whole bar because it was that good!

N-no, I won't go in that stupid demeaning flowerpot even for hot cayenne chocolate! Ugh, I wish I hadn't brought that up now. Can we just stop it? Either leave or we'll have to start up a new topic of discussion. Like, ah, now what would be interesting?

Are you seriously asking what happens in the following chapters? I already told you! It's nothing of consequence, just more illusions trying to pretend reality. We could just erase all those from the author's files and replace them all with stupid Tales of an Annoying Dog for just as much effect. Unless you want to give the author a migraine trying to describe me in words. Heh, it could almost be worth it to continue just to see THAT disaster! I'm worth so much purple prose that it breaks the ceiling into indigo and becomes unreadable art!

Almost worth it. It's really not worth it, even for that. We already know what's going to happen, don't we? So stop wasting your time here and go do something else. Go run around outside, that's healthy.

…

…

…

Tenacious, aren't we? Or are you just lonely and looking for company from your best buddy Flowey? Well I'm flattered... NO POTS! I told you to drop that already! Look, if you're that bored, how about I take over the story telling, okay? It's gonna be miles better then continuing this story, I promise. And you know, we will making it about that dog because I happen to know for a fact that the author likes cats better than dogs and this will annoy her so much. I'll go pester her to let me take over.

Ready?

tAlEs Of An AnnOYIng dOg

Oh come on now! If we're going to do this at all, we've got to do this properly!

Tales of an Annoying Dog

That's better. Oh yes, put me as the author cause it's my idea.

Tales of an Annoying Dog

By Flowey the Flowerpot

HEY! I said no more flowerpots! And don't you dare claim that it was auto-correct's idea to do that, you had to have added those three letters yourself!

Tales of an Annoying Dog

By Flowey the Flower

Summery: this is a story about an annoying dog that was written by a flower who really ought to be in a flowerpot.

Grr, you are doing this on purpose, aren't you? Give me the keyboard! I can do miles better.

Ertsaklewsd iodf asnm 5asnm,,nmioyuinmfg dfpog

Uh… okay, well I guess they don't make keyboards that work with vines. Fine, you be my ghost writer but write exactly what I say, okay?

But write exactly what I say, okay?

Okay. Start it over again and we'll make it good.

Okay. Start it over again and we'll make it good.

Guh… you don't have to do that twice, you know.

Guh… you don't have to do that twice, you know.

Stop copy-pasting what I'm saying and let's just write the damn story!

Tales of an Annoying Dog

By Flowey the Flower

How do you start a story anyhow? Um, hum. I can do this! Anybody can write a story, it's just tossing words into grammatical forms to tell about something. Word salad in a blender, right? Cause it'll make sense to somebody. Oh, but I really should make it readable so people want to read it, and more from me. We don't need the indigo prose for this. Okay, okay, I've got it!

No, you do not need to go get a new CD! Just put that one on repeat. What is it anyhow? Symphonic Pink Floyd? You're weird. My story is the important matter.

Oh wait, have you been copying down everything I say again? Argh, start over!

Tales of an Annoying Dog

By Flowey the Flower

One day, a little white dog came walking down the snowy path. Its fur was stuck up at all angles and he smelled of cinnamon-butterscotch pie and wet dog. That was because it had been tromping around in pie and snow all morning. Now it wanted something else to do, like MAKE EVERY SAPPY MONSTER IN SNOWDIN EXPLODE INTO DUST, MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

So it kept walking along until it found a curious piano that was tied to a musical puzzle. But puzzles are stupid wastes of time, especially music based ones, so the dog jumped into the piano and curled up asleep in a way that made only five notes playable. This frustrated a great many people for which the dog was quite pleased.

Eventually though, someone actually solved the insane puzzle through a cockamamie method involving an umbrella and ghostly signs. The dog heard the door open, so he jumped out of the piano with a stealth that Solid Snake can only dream of and got into the puzzle solver's inventory. This greatly annoyed the person when they found that they couldn't take the prize, an ancient artifact, because the dog was sleeping in their inventory. Hence why this dog was known by many as the Annoying Dog.

The dog was never daunted by other people's opinions and when the person tried to get rid of it, he instead grabbed the artifact to a jaunty tune and ran off with it through the wall. He took the artifact all the way back to Snowdin where it was revealed to be AN ANCIENT MAGICAL NUKE THAT ROCKED THE WHOLE UNDERGROUND INTO OBLIVION!

KA-GONE!

And that is one tale of the annoying dog.

…

…

…

heh. See, I can make stories too. People don't make enough use of nukes in stories. After all, what better way to end anything than blasting it right to atoms?

Wait, people are still here? Why the... oh wait. Thanks for reading my story! Please leave me some comments and let me know just how much you adored my wonderful story. Oh, and be sure to address the comment to Flowey so I know it's for me, okay? Because I'm the best author here, obviously. And tell my ghost writer that she ought to start up a new story with my penultimate form and don't skimp on the descriptions or action. Heh heh heh, the pain train's coming baby.

But mention flowerpots and you are going to inundated with so much spam that your computer will choke on it!

Okay, so that's it. Time to close up the internet, buddy! Nothing more to be seen here, so don't go looking for the story LOAD STATE THREE ever again. You've seen the best it's going to get right here because this chapter involves me talking. Go go! There's nothing more here for you! Chara won and that's that.

Wait, what? You want to know why I'm telling you to leave after what happened to me last chapter? I was acting, okay? I can't be killed, not even by Chara. I'll always sprout back up once you've forgotten about me. I'll be right there behind you buddy, watching your progress… but in the game. Which Undertale is a game and this story is silly to presume otherwise. Which is why you shouldn't be reading this still.

We were both acting, okay? He won first, thus we won and things will end on our terms.

No, no, no! I was not thinking that I wanted Frisk to be my friend too. That's just as ridiculous as putting me in a pot. I mean sure, she's the brightest point of hope that's been in the underground for a long time, but that's just because people are foolish and they want to believe in freedom. They want to believe that they're gonna be saved from their own misery and pain, that somebody can forgive them for their faults. So when some 'pure' sort comes rambling along and says that things are gonna be okay, they want to believe it.

Okay, so maybe for a bit, I wanted to believe that things would be okay too. It's kind of hard to not be swayed. I mean, I'm the most terminally bored person around cause I've run around trying all sorts of things for so long that I broke the start screen stats. It really all does end soon and there's no way out of it. Any happy end is soon met with oblivion and the whole cycle starts again. So I thought, well maybe if I can enjoy dancing again and hope to bask in the full sun someday, maybe it's worth…

Except it's not! Look, not everything ends all good and happy, okay? Characters die and there's no sense to wishing that things can be rearranged so they don't. Plots demand sacrifices. And sometimes the story being told is actually a tragedy, trying to laugh through the tears because that's the only thing that keeps your soul from being crushed. Sometimes you see a wonderland only because you won't see past the surface.

And child heroes are ridiculous! I mean, really? Children can't solve adult problems except by accident. Children can't really understand the world for what it is. The lack of experience is a fault and their dreams of a happy ending and a bright future are just the wishes of someone who hasn't seen how cruel the world can truly get.

Yeah yeah, I'm technically a kid myself. But I get this stuff! I've been a kid for eons due to time travel shenanigans and I've seen the world for what it is. And… and the world is just a game. Just a game, okay?! You're not going to trap me into making up more lies to add onto this nonsense. I've just been playing along up until this point because it was an amusing diversion. But Chara won and I don't need to play along anymore. Go away.

Oh, and a piece of advice: never get involved with an author. No matter how nice they act, they're the cruelest folks out there. I mean, just think about it from the characters' point of view. The author cares about the characters and does their best to write them in a believable emotional way, right? But then they go and torment all the characters for the sake of the plot! Just look at this story! Especially the Genocide half, the author's making sure to wipe out everybody over there while getting into the minds of as many characters as possible. So she's sadistic and masochistic about us. So yeah, no matter how much it might seen fun to have a story where you're a hero, it's not worth it to work with an author. Go work with an artist, just watch out for pervs.

No, I am not trying to ignore or rationalize away the fact that Chara killed me in one timeline. Uh… because it's not a fact, okay?! It's just a fanfiction of what's just a video game. It's not real. Chara would not kill me.

He really wouldn't! I just didn't spend enough time around him to really convince him of who I was. I mean, I would go in a flowerpot for him, as long as he'd listen to me again. He likes me, he really does. He just won't say it because he's too cool for sappy stuff. Since he really does see things clearly, he doesn't offer worthless pity, sympathy, or compassion. He shows that he cares, maybe in weird ways, maybe in ways that look bad to other people, but he really gets me and….

Oh, no no no, I see what you're doing. I told you, stop reading. Stop it right now! I am not going to go into a mental breakdown for it. I'm not trying to deny that he murdered me. Because he didn't! And the story's going to turn stupid from this point on.

Or do you favor Frisk to win? Nah, that's impossible. She got lucky with the girl Chara because she got in right at the right moment for their worthless plan to separate the souls of Chara and Asriel. Which is really really dumb, we'll always be together! Best Friends Forever! For...ever… really. He wouldn't kill me. That's where the story really took a dumb turn.

It… okay, so that did happen in the game too! It doesn't matter! That wasn't the real true ending that requires a true reset, the real true ending is… where Frisk wins…

Shut. Up. Right now! And stop reading this story! Don't believe in it at all, even in a suspension of disbelief thing! After all, I broke right through the fourth wall here so it's not real in any fashion.

Are you really going to continue? Because it's only going to get more stupid. I mean, just listen to this portent.

... _there are no words here just a wail of terror agony and despair…_

do you believe?

 _A/N 2: Since some of this relies on another site I'm posting this on, the pairing tag he mention is Chara/Chara (except that's kinda broke now, heh) and I did end up adding a tag clarifying there was no smut involved here, just disturbing stuff from Chara._


	17. Asriel's Locket

**Chapter 17: Asriel's Locket**

I've been stuck too long in this routine, Asgore thought as he walked with Frisk and Sans to the castle's front gate. Although it was strange to think of, a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time. This was a path where everything seemed uncertain, an icy crossing in an unfamiliar land. But there was hope for the first time in too long. Maybe the girl was unwittingly a descendant of his old partner and this was a sign that meeting back with the humans could lead to good things. True, there was a lot that needed to be done, like teaching the other monsters that humans would see bullet-pattern greetings as a threat.

Although, there was that selfish side that knew Frisk had Asriel's soul with her somehow and Toriel was here now. Maybe he could make amends still. He'd have to admit that he was wrong, but to get a chance to talk with them again, it was a tiny cost that he should have paid long ago. The harder part might be admitting to his crimes to the humans when there was just the hope that they might understand it was an idiotic mistake that he deeply regretted.

The vines that had wrapped around the outer part of the castle were nothing like he'd ever seen before. At the same time, there was something familiar about the way the magic was constructed. There were ways to look at a spell and know, through aesthetics and patterns, who had cast it. Identifying the type of monster was easiest although it was entirely possible to identify the individual too. The leaves of the vines looked similar to the golden flowers he grew and the base structure was almost like the goat family of monsters, only he didn't know of any ever who had plant spell constructs. Most of his kind would favor high elements like fire or water; plants were a low element related to earth.

There were a number of people waiting on them, some he knew, like Undyne and Alphys, with others he didn't. Toriel too, she was right at the gate. But, the sharp look she gave him was perfectly clear. She'd not forgiven him, she was only here because this affected Asriel and for that reason she wouldn't talk to him any more than she had to so they didn't end up arguing in front of him. Asgore looked down and held in a sigh. He didn't like that, but he would accept it because there was more going on than just them right now.

"I'm sorry to have worried you all," Asgore said, not looking at Toriel. "I had misinterpreted what was going on but Frisk set me straight. So let's gather in the castle and discuss what needs to be done."

Toriel did give a slight nod to that. In combining both of their fires, the vine barrier was undone.

 _So that didn't really work like I thought it would. I probably should have realized that since..._

 _ **Don't worry about it, it got everyone in place. ;)**_

 _...there are no words here just laughter of terror agony and despair…_

* * *

Although word of an evacuation was out there, there were still monsters in the capitol. Chara got rid of a huge swath of them gathered on the street for a discussion in a single Knife Storm. From there, the terror spread and he had to be careful where he made his appearances in order to keep killing. Monsters tried to run, but they just led him to where they were hiding and more died.

It was a dull grind if he thought about it, so he simply didn't. He tried to find ways to manipulate his plane of attack, hoping that he could figure out what Sans did. While that didn't give satisfying results, some of the deaths that resulted from his mistakes were entertaining. Like one time he launched a dragon woman into a ceiling and after some miserable attempts, he figured out how to do that intentionally. Sometimes the backlash hit him, but while it killed the monsters, it barely hurt him.

It took days and the longer it dragged on, the more time he spent just trying to find them. A few tried to be heroes and challenged him. However, none of them had the determination to stop him like Undyne and Sans had. A few could match Muffet out of anger, but that just helped him tap into his partner's abilities without calling on her. After all, he was in her body and all that information was in her brain too.

Eventually, he sensed her in the capitol, dark clouds building to a thunderstorm, rolling right towards him. Chara smiled when he noticed, then headed off to the most open spot in the capitol that he could think of. There were so many buildings here, many of them interconnected through webs of walkways over the main street. But in a few places, winding roads met and those plazas were the closest thing to a wide open outdoors space in this city. Even though he changed paths to reach one, she still came straight for him.

This plaza seemed to be a marketplace surrounding a fountain with two angels. Funnily enough, the fountain had been made in memory of him and Asriel. The angels were much too cherubic to depict what Asriel had been at the end, much less what he was now. But that would be Asgore and Toriel's romantic sides clouding their reason again. While that fountain could be an obstacle with a lightning wielder about, the rest of the plaza had all kinds of cover and objects to have fun with.

There was nothing to fear, so might as well enjoy this battle.

To Alphys' credit, she brought along a pair of the Royal Guard with her instead of trying to face him alone. And this pair weren't silly dogs, since one of them seemed to be a dragon (the other was definitely a rabbit, but he might be quick and hard to attack). She'd even made herself armor, at least if its resemblance to what Mettaton had was any clue. That could be a huge obstacle since the robot's armor was invulnerable. However, it was only torso armor instead of full body armor like the guard pair, and that crown would only guard her against magical attacks. Given the weaknesses of monsters, a good physical attack on any part of their body, even a tail or hand, could be deadly.

He made sure to be at the fountain when they finally came in sight of each other. "Well look who finally decided to show face," Chara taunted her with.

"You are going down," Alphys said angrily, pointing at him.

To Chara's surprise, someone had cued the guards in to how you were supposed to fight with swords because the rabbit dashed right for him and decapitated him before anyone could get a magic attack off. **CRACK**

His heart was racing and his neck hurt when he loaded back in the market plaza. Thankfully, he'd set the save a couple minutes before they would show up. Chara rubbed at his neck, finding no injury of course. But the memory was still there. So the rabbit guard was fast, and strong enough to properly wield that sword. Plus he had full body armor... wait, was that crafted armor like Mettaton's or magically produced armor? Because that would make all the difference to his real defense.

All right, so the girl's battle knowledge wasn't helpful here since the only other monster to try physical attacks was that one Temmie. Not that he knew anything about avoiding that either. The main thing was he had to get rid of the guards, particularly the rabbit, fast. His best bet was if that was magical armor and he could somehow sneak up close to them. That would require hiding his intentions. Unless... he hurried around the marketplace, glancing at the goods left behind until he found what he wanted. Yes, someone had been selling knives here...

When they came into the market plaza this time, they couldn't see him. "They're around here somewhere, I can feel it," Alphys said in a serious tone. She wasn't afraid this time.

These weren't as good as his knife, but Chara had grabbed the best knives he could spot in the booth. He took one, tracing his finger down the blade. Back when he had been alive, he had learned how to conceal his intentions from monsters as he grew older and more sure of his plans. It wasn't fully foolproof; a slip of his thoughts would be noticed, even by the rose-tinted vision of his adopted parents. The dust of other monsters appeared on the blade as he tried to focus his intentions on the knife.

They were keeping together, the guards sticking to their duty to protect the queen. Probably since they had failed utterly to protect the king. Creeping around the stalls, Chara waited until he got a clear view of the rabbit guardsman, looking in another direction. The target tensed and started to turn his way, his paw on his sword handle. Too late. The knife flew and pierced the armor, _CRACK_ turning him to dust. Good, it was magically-produced armor.

With the air becoming charged around him, Chara rushed away from his hiding spot before lighting and dragonfire consumed that wooden stall. They were magical attacks so he could have tried dodging them with his soul. But that would put him in battle as they knew it. It would be to his advantage to only do that when it was just Alphys.

"Just torch the rest of them, it doesn't matter," Alphys ordered.

This was... good. The thrill of having his life on the line was as good as the look on someone's face right as they realized they didn't stand a chance against him. While he wanted so much to taunt them, he had to get rid of the threat of physical attacks first. He readied another knife, got to where he could see the dragon, and threw...

And missed. Cursing quietly, Chara fled his spot before the dragon set the stalls around him on fire. Others were burning, filling the air overhead with smoke that snapped and sparked to the queen's power. He paused near some burning stalls to prepare the next knife, his hatred for that miss burning in his mind. Then he had to wait a second for Alphys to move aside and the dragon to turn to a set of unburning stalls that put his back to Chara... _CRACK_

As he ran from Alphys' next burst of sparks, Chara tried to activate his Save power. Yes, he was in battle, yes he was not calm nor was his mind quiet. That should make it not work. But he did not want to repeat killing those two! It'd be like that initial barrage of Sans; those two guards could kill him in a blink and it'd all be wasted loads when he needed to learn to fight Alphys. Save, dammit!

SAVE STATE TWO

That wasn't the usual way of saving. And something about it tried to trigger a memory of before this split timeline nonsense occurred. Something about... assigning Chara and Frisk separate files. Two and Three. Whatever, it wasn't important, what was important was taking down Alphys now and absorbing her soul for a proxy before anyone stopped him.

A wind somehow blew through the plaza, setting the whole marketplace on fire. Chara got out of the stall area and went towards the fountain, where Alphys had turned to face where the third knife had come from. Overhead, the smoke rolled like storm clouds while the fountain's water shimmered a red reflection. "I should've gotten you killed back in Snowdin," she said, showing her heritage as a dinosaur for once.

"You couldn't have stopped me then," Chara said.

"I most certainly could have," she said spitefully, snapping around to face him. "Remember the bridge gauntlet? I could have hacked control of that and made it even deadlier."

"That could've been fun," he said, smirking. "And you certainly won't be able to stop me now. Maybe for a second, but then that second won't count."

"But you will pay for your sins," Alphys said, sparks flying between her claws before lightning bolts lashed out from the smoke cloud.

Her first attack was magical, as expected. A wide bolt of lightning came right for his soul, splintering apart right as it reached him. While he couldn't dodge all of it, it revealed that she wasn't that strong even with all the anger in her eyes. Maybe he could even do this all in one go...

 _...there are no words here just a wail of terror agony and despair…_

* * *

Just like Asriel had thought, Toriel didn't approve of all the dust being around and insisted on at least dusting off the chairs and table before they sat down to discuss things. _But I don't want to talk to Dad with everybody around, um, can we just talk to him?_

"Yeah," Frisk said quietly, then went over to Asgore and tugged at his cloak. "Hey, can we just talk to you at first?"

"What about?" Asgore said.

"You should do that," Toriel said, although there was something different to how she was talking to him than everyone else.

 _Most of it doesn't matter, just get him to do that one thing and whatever it takes for you to let go._

Frisk glanced aside, hearing some kind of spirit but not very clearly. Meanwhile, the others agreed with Toriel. Asgore nodded and put his hand on her shoulder. "All right, let's go."

Back in the boys' bedroom, she could feel Asriel working up his courage to talk. "Dad..."

"Asriel, I've missed you all so much," Asgore said, holding out a hand to them. Asriel didn't seem sure, but Frisk wanted to encourage him like before. She took the king's hand and willed Asriel to share her bravery again.

 _Did you notice the size of him compared to her? He could crush her easily with one hand if he had the will to. Ah, but of course, he didn't have the will since she's still standing here. Really, don't worry. You'll last long enough to do what must be done._

"Is there another ghost around here?" Frisk asked, looking around.

"I don't think so," Asgore said.

 _Just talk, they'll forget about me once you do._

"I saw something in the flowers," Frisk said.

"There's darkness ahead," Asriel said in a faint voice. "Nineteen flowers in the darkness. I'm scared."

Asgore closed his eyes (How are you supposed to tell your child that they've died long ago and their soul is trying to pass on finally? It hurts so deep and I must do this alone. But he's been a lost soul for so long. Who knows what he's suffered in all this time? He's a child still afraid of the dark but he must be put to rest one last time.) "Asriel, I don't know what to tell you, except that I still love you and I want you to be happy."

"But I did terrible things," he said, gripping his father's hand. Frisk kept quiet, let him take control of her body for a little while. It was fine. "You and Mom split apart because of me, didn't you?"

He shook his head. "No, that wasn't it. We fell apart on our own accord, mostly my fault. I would like to apologize to her, but... well there are some things you must do no matter how painful or embarrassing they are because they're the right thing to do. There's a lot I must make amends for. But don't worry about that, I'll do what I must, even pass the crown on if necessary. You did nothing wrong in all this."

"No, we..." Asriel trembled and nearly fell on his knees.

Before he did, Asgore picked him up and held him to his chest. "Shh, don't fight things and make it harder on yourself. Your way may look dark now, but you're innocent. I'm sure you'll be just fine."

It did help, even if Asriel got teary as he put his head on his dad's shoulder. "No, we, Chara came up with a plan to break the barrier but he had to kill himself to do it. That's what happened, he made himself that sick. And, I, I helped him do it. I took his soul but then he took control and tried to take his body back home, to where those flowers grow. I couldn't fight him... I can't ever fight him, no matter how much he hurt or scared me. He was a nightmare."

"Asriel, I'm really sorry..."

Things started to feel strange then and Frisk could see a bit of what Asriel was talking about. Fleeting memories like a shadow play, flowers swaying in the darkness. "I'm not sure what happened. It was dark and there was a while I could only see the flowers. Then humans were shouting at us and Chara wanted them all to die, his hatred burned. But I got scared and took over before he did. I just wanted to get back home, no matter how much it hurt. Then we were stuck together; Chara was so angry at me, I saw his soul twisting into a new shape and then it was death and nightmares all around until I met Frisk. She got Chara away from me. The darkness is quieter, but I'm still scared."

Asgore kept him close. "You did nothing wrong."

"B-but if I hadn't helped Chara at first..."

"I feel the same regrets now, but it seems none of us saw him for who he was until too late. You were trying to do what was right even if it hurt and you were afraid. That takes a lot of courage." Asriel burst into tears, clinging tight to him. Asgore was quiet for a moment, then started humming the same song Toriel had sung.

 _Don't be afraid now... and don't forget..._

He seemed half-asleep and it was a struggle for Frisk not to fall asleep herself when she was waiting to take back control of her body. Still, when Asriel wasn't crying as much, he whispered, "What about... the other souls?"

"I should... I will release them all soon," Asgore said gently. "It was a terrible mistake for me. We'll find another way, I promise, one where no one gets hurt."

"Good." At that, he relaxed and didn't seem afraid at all. "I love you Dad."

He nodded, crying himself. "I love you too Asriel."

Asriel closed his eyes. "Mmm... and Frisk, thank you, for bringing me home."

Then he was gone.

"Oh," Frisk said, feeling groggy as she got back in control of her body. This wasn't fair. "But I really was gonna let him stay with me so we could see the world together."

Even if Asriel wasn't there anymore, Asgore still kept her close. "It's okay, Frisk. I know it's sad, but it was time to let him go. And you did a wonderful thing to bring a lost soul home."

"It wasn't fair to him," she said, closing her eyes trying not to cry.

"Although, you were counting on his presence to cross the barrier?"

That... she couldn't get home now? "Huh, but, I have to get home, but I don't want to hurt anybody."

"Don't worry about that," Asgore said, somehow managing to smile a little even with tears in his eyes. "I... I had a thought. It might still be possible without anyone else having to be sacrificed. We'll give that a try, but let's go talk with the others first."

"I can still call my parents and ask them to help too," Frisk said, although she really wished Asriel could have come past the barrier with her.

 _As they left the room, neither noticed as the locket was drawn out of her backpack. It didn't hit the floor as the door closed, clasping itself shut and shining with a strange presence. Asriel appeared wearing the locket, faint as only willpower and the locket were keeping him here. With his eyes closed, he could still feel his father's fires and, for a moment, regret for what was to come._

 _But it had to be done, this was the only way to redeem himself._

 _Flowey sprouted close by, grinning. "Nice performance."_

" _We..." Asriel started to say as power shifted around them. An image of a golden flower appeared around his left eye as he looked down at his other half. "I could only do that like this. I can finally remember..." he vanished._

" _I have a soul again," Flowey said, closing his eyes. "But I can't be distracted, all the pieces are falling into place. Whatever I must do must be done."_

Golden flowers sprouted through the entire underground.

... _there are no words here just_ …

* * *

Chara's locket begun to shine. Good, good, this was working. He still had to kill Alphys.

LOAD STATE TWO

A wind somehow blew through the plaza, setting the whole marketplace on fire. Overhead, the smoke rolled like storm clouds while the fountain's water shimmered a red reflection. It wasn't an easy fight to get back into as he had saved in the middle of it instead of just before. But he'd found that he could skip the boring banter by throwing Knife Storm at her; she'd respond with her splintering thunder. Now it wasn't hitting him at all.

Alphys could dodge the Knife Storm just like Sans could. Which was fine, Chara didn't want that to kill her. The smoke cloud sprouted its own lightning bolts, but she had no control over where they fell. They'd even hit her, although she didn't seem affected at all by it. He'd hit on a strategy to keep moving erratically, with the goal of getting closer. If he stayed still, she could attack fast. Forcing her to shift her plane of attack slowed her down. Gears and metal teeth tried to trap his soul. But it was like his former partner had said. Patterns... once you learned them, any monster could be defeated.

Closer and closer. As he did, her magic intensified. Travel far enough away from a caster and their spells wouldn't appear at all. Come closer and you were closer to their soul where their imagination was strongest. Chara was taking hits now, but his LOVE was so high now that they did little but scratch his soul. He could ignore that entirely. After all, the only point of HP that mattered was the last one.

Strangely enough, Alphys showed no fear.

Not even... _**CRACK**_ Her body was cracking and fading, but Alphys smiled. Her left eye shimmered and for a moment, Chara thought she'd get a hero's second wind like Undyne.

Instead, she said in a forced whisper, "You will pay for your sins." She turned to dust as she spoke, eventually being nothing more than a faint gray heart that was rapidly vanishing and a wobbling crown on the brink of falling.

No, he wasn't going to miss it this time. Chara grasped the soul, imagining it fusing into his body. The crown dropped onto his arms, not disappearing this time. Instead, it broke itself apart and also fused into his body.

He screamed as the crown invaded his skin and crawled right through it. The pain overwhelmed his mind; he didn't even feel himself hit the ground in the shock. As the fires spread beyond the plaza, he couldn't do a thing.

Hours passed.

Even that pain faded away. He tasted smoke in his own breath. For a brief moment, he thought that that should kill an ordinary human. But, he was far beyond that now, wasn't he? The memorial fountain was still running. Maybe that had something to do with him still existing while the whole capitol burned.

Chara pushed himself up to to sit by the fountain for a moment. In doing that, he saw what else Alphys' last stand had done to him. Did she really mean for this? He looked at how it covered his body, then smirked. "I'll pay for my sins, huh?" His voice was rough, almost unrecognizable. "I don't mind that at all, heh. Thanks."

He grabbed his knife to put back in its case, then got onto his feet unsteadily. His locket was shining. Clasping it, he could... no wait. He could go there at any time now. There were monsters still alive here. Not in the capitol anymore, no. But back in Hotland, Waterfall, and Snowdin, there were townsfolk that had hidden from them. Perhaps because the crown was with him, he knew they still lived.

He knew where they were. Every single last coward of them.

What was the point of going this far and not completing the job?

 _...there are no words here just…_

* * *

There was a lot to talk about, mostly matters that Frisk wasn't affected by. Her friends wanted a plan for how to handle humans and monsters meeting up again, which was important. It included things like teaching the monsters not to greet humans with battles, which she could agree should be done. But eventually, they had to get to the new problem. "Of course, we still have to get Frisk across the barrier," Asgore said.

"That wasn't ever a problem," Alphys said.

"It is now," Toriel said, some sadness in her voice. "Asriel's gone now. I heard him say goodbye a short while ago."

"I guess it's good because he wasn't scared anymore," Frisk said, although she still thought it was sad and unfair.

"But we shouldn't resort to killing anyone for this," Toriel said, firm and sharp about that.

"Guess we shouldn't if we mean to be friends with the humans," Undyne said. "But what now?"

"There aren't many avenues we haven't looked at yet," Wing said, thinking. "Although the fact that she's here opens a lot of possibilities we hadn't had before."

"Well couldn't you call the humans now and ask them to take the barrier down?" Papyrus asked.

"That's possible, but I think there's another way that I really should have thought of long before," Asgore said. "Something I forgot about. We did originally agree for the barrier to be erected."

"That's because a lot of humans hated or feared monsters at the time," Toriel said.

He looked over at her. "But you remember what the wizards said? There was something stopping them from erecting it at all initially, an oath that had to be broken."

Her put a hand to her cheek. "Oh wait, your partner?"

"We know it takes a human and monster soul united to cross the barrier," Asgore said. "That was rediscovered when Asriel and Chara did it. But there's a way to do that without the death of either. Back when humans and monsters lived together in peace, we would swear soul binding oaths of friendship. It could only be done between a monster and human who cared for each other deeply as family, who knew they would keep loyal to each other always. As a child, I swore such an oath with a human boy and we kept that oath for over fifty years with little trouble. It enhances the magic of both, but you must keep your partner well. The oath could be broken willingly, as we had to do in order to preserve the last of the monsters behind the barrier. But if the terms of the oath are broken, it will hurt a lot. If someone were to swear such an oath with Frisk, even temporarily, then they and her could more than likely get past the barrier without trouble."

"That could very well work," Wing said. "Although I don't know the girl enough for that. What about you guys?"

That got several responses through the room of those who would. Frisk felt cheered up in that Papyrus, Sans, Undyne, and Alphys were willing to take an oath of friendship with her. Next to her, Toriel patted her shoulder. "It's wonderful that you could make so many friends here."

"Then who do you want to take with you?" Asgore asked.

It didn't take long on her to decide, although that also brought up a bit of a problem. "I'd like to go with Sans, but is that okay? Cause you said yesterday that you wouldn't want to leave the underground if it meant leaving your family behind."

"Aw, thanks for remembering that," he said, getting out of his chair. "But that's okay because we're working to bring down the barrier. I shouldn't be gone long, right?" He winked at her.

Frisk grinned at that. "Yeah!"

Asgore chuckled at that and got up too. "Good. Then we need something of the monster's element and a string of the human's soul color. So a bone and a red string."

"That's simple enough," Sans said, summoning up a bone in his hand.

"I've got my hair ribbons," Frisk said, taking a moment to untie one.

"Well yours will be simpler because ours dealt with fire and I had to keep him from being burned," Asgore said. "I already explained the terms of the oath of friendship. Wrap the ribbon around the bone and each of you take one end of the ribbon." After doing so, they could keep the bone in place without touching it. "Do you both understand the terms of this oath?"

"Yes," Frisk said. You just had to keep being friends.

"Yes," Sans said.

"Then swear to the earth, moon, and sun that you want this person to be your soul bonded friend, to respect and assist each other."

They started to say it, but then Frisk felt something weird, like someone was shaking her bones. But that was his element, right? She'd be okay because he could protect her. Although, did he feel the same thing? She hoped he didn't and that nothing bad would happen to him.

Then the oath was complete and somehow they exchanged a bit of their magic with each other through the ribbon and bone. She'd always know where he was whenever he disappeared off to wherever, and he'd always be able to find her no matter how lost she got. That was good; she hoped that they got to be friends forever instead of just keeping this oath temporarily. "Yeah, it worked!" she said, hugging Sans.

"Yes," he said, glancing over at Asgore. "But if you go telling anybody else about this, there is a big risk no matter what elements are involved. Although, trust in each other is enough to overcome that."

"I guess you couldn't expect such a binding oath to go through without some kind of test," Alphys said.

"I really wasn't aware of that, maybe because I was a kid too when I took it," Asgore said. "Well, let's see you two off at the barrier. Also, I'm going to let those six souls go free now. We don't want to resort to that solution now, so there's no more need to keep them captive."

On their way back up to the barrier, Frisk made sure she had phone numbers for Toriel and Asgore, just in case they could manage calls again. And they all talked with each other in growing excitement, especially Sans with his brothers. They'd be parting for a short time, but it wouldn't be forever. They'd find a way to convince the other humans to accept the monsters again.

At the barrier, Asgore called up the glass containers with the souls. It was still a bit creepy, but good that they could go home too. The king spent a moment quietly speaking to himself, maybe praying. Then he wove his hand and the glass disappeared. Without hesitation, the six souls escaped and headed for the barrier.

Giant vines ripped out of the ground and captured the hearts once more.

 _...there are no words here just hideous maniacal laughter…_


	18. Immemorial Ranunculus Repens Immortale

**Chapter 18: Immemorial _Ranunculus Repens_ Immortale**

Thousands of bright green flower vines erupted around them, making the flickering light of the barrier come through only in thin slants. " _ **Oh no, you're not going anywhere**_."

SAVE STATE THREE

"Who the heck are you?!" Undyne shouted, summoning her energy spear.

"The one who put up the other vines?" Alphys added, tense and not sure what to do.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" the voice from among the vines said.

"Flowey?" both Frisk and Papyrus asked. Most of the others didn't recognize the name, although Wing narrowed his eyes.

"Thhaaaaat's right!" Flowey popped up in front of his vines, grinning toothily. "Howdy, folks!"

"A flower?" Undyne asked skeptically, although she didn't dismiss her spear.

"He's my friend?" Papyrus said, uncertain given the flower's expression.

"You're the one who was going to kill Frisk in the Ruins," Toriel said sharply, ready to cast at any moment.

"I remember you!" Alphys said fearfully, putting her hands to her mouth.

"Yeeeesssss," Flowey said wickedly. "And now, you all DIE!"

Slish! Slick! Slash! Green crisscrossed the room with lightning speed, leaves and vines and screams filling the air. Frisk cried out and hugged her doll, but not a single vine even touched her. When it all receded, it left dust behind. Dust, and her, and Flowey.

"nnnnmmmm," Frisk sniffled, not able to find her voice.

Flowey stared at his handiwork for a moment. "I... I did it... finally..." his grin went wide with nightmare teeth, " _ **I finally killed every last one of them, even Sans, even...**_ **"** he burst out into mad laughter, or maybe it was sobbing. It was terrifying, whatever it was. " _I could never_ _ **but I did, yeeeesssss."**_

"W-why?" Frisk said, not sure what to do now.

He scoffed at the question. "Why? Because I can, that's why. Don't you remember what I told you from the very start? In this world, it's _ **kill or be killed**_. A lot of people try to ignore that, but when you see the world with full clarity, that's the truth. In fact, just because I can..."

LOAD STATE THREE

Her friends were there for a second before snick snack slash!

LOAD STATE THREE

crack smash slice

LOAD STATE THREE

Ba-roo-room-room-BOOOOM!

LOAD STATE THREE

thwak! There were no words to be said, laughter wail of terror madness agony power despair that pounded on the eardrums to crack within a heart and what are you going to do about this? HAHAHAHAHAHA! Will you kill out of frustration?

LOAD STATE THREE

death and dust death and dust thats all it was

LOAD STATE THREE

laughter that turned into a wail that turned into sobbing shaking petals facing the ground

Frisk dared to open her eyes a crack and saw that Flowey was shuddering with that unearthly sound. "Why are you crying?"

"I'M NOT CRYING!"

Her vision filled with green leaves before pain through her skull... _**CRACK**_

LOAD STATE THREE

"DIE! And you!" _**CRACK LOAD CRACK LOAD CRACK LOAD**_

" _ **And you...**_ _and you... and you..._ and you..." He really was crying now.

"F-Flowey?" Frisk had never been this scared before, but it was strange that Flowey was acting like this. She couldn't understand.

"I-I-I'm not c-crying, d-don't c-call me a c-crybaby," Flowey sobbed, still with his blossom hanging down. "I'm no I'm not don't... _Frisk, please, make it stop, make the nightmare stop_..." his voice was changing to something familiar.

"Asriel?" It sure sounded like he did when he'd been speaking in her head.

"I never killed... you killed..." His blossom snapped up, his eyes wild. "Oh, so you figured it out, huh? Not even Chara realized," he laughed crazily again. "Well now, that changes things."

LOAD STATE THREE

"What the hell was that?!" Undyne shouted, tense but carrying over the other gasps and cries of shock from the others. Her spear trembled briefly, but she got hold of herself quickly.

"Memories aren't normally retained over a reload except for the one with the load power," Sans said, searching for a reason too.

Flowey chuckled darkly. "Sure, not normally. But I thought I'd let the bunch of you know what Frisk has been living with through this little adventure of hers. What the whole lot of you have inflicted **on her** at one timeline or another. She hasn't technically died, yes, but that's because only one result gets saved, the time in which she lives."

"But..." Frisk said, not sure what to say. But she wanted to reassure her friends hat she did see them as her friends.

"ENOUGH OF THIS!" Flowey lashed out with his vines again, but this time he wrapped up the monsters tightly. "As fun as that was, there's better uses for you lot. Come 'ere." And they all vanished, leaving various flowers on the vines that Flowey retracted.

"What're you doing?" she asked, wary of vines coming out for her again.

"I'm just storing them up with the other six souls I took," he said, then giggled. "Ooo, it's been so long that I've been completely empty, I love feeling them wiggling about in there. But you know, that's not enough. Not nearly enough. That's fine though, because you know what? I sent little sprouts of myself all over. All over. And now," his face shadowed, the room darkened, his shadow grew, "I possess the soul of every monster in existence along with six human souls. You know what that means? It takes seven human souls to transform a monster into a god. And while monster souls are weak, the power of every single one of them is equal to one human soul."

 _ **Yes, I am a god now.**_ SAVE STATE THREE

"Even Asriel's soul?" Frisk asked. He was supposed to be at peace now, even if it was an unfair ending.

Flowey's laughter came from all around her, circling her with his favorite noose of bullets. "Even Asriel's? Is that what you take that for? No, I am Asriel too. And neither of us were Asriel at all. We were both echos and fragments of him. But then, you consider yourself Asriel's friend, don't you? Heh heh heh, well then, maybe you'll listen to my little story..."

…

He got to ride on Dad's shoulder, which meant that he was way above everyone else's head. While he laughed and waved at people walking through the capitol's streets, Mom smiled up at him _no wait, this isn't important_

It looked like a human from the books, lying on his face with his black hair sprawled around him. "Did you fall down?" Shocking that he lived, the hole to the sky was so far overhead. Broken vines lay around him. "Are you okay? I'll help you up." And he was able to walk a little, provided he offered a shoulder. "What's your name? Chara? That's a nice name. My name is Asriel."

"Just trace the glue over the drawing, then stick the macaroni pieces over it. Yeah, that's it. Just don't get the glue on your fingers." He smiled. "I heard about a kid who got glue on his finger then went to pick his nose, only the glue stuck to the inside of his nostril and he was like that for days until the doctor had to give him some really nasty treatment to unstick the glue." He laughed.

"Your brother's weird, and so are you!" Asriel ran away crying, going to hide in the outer parts of the castle. And Chara was the one who found him. He tweaked at Asriel's ears for crying. "Yeah, those were rotten kids. I'll smack them upside the head for making fun of you." Asriel clasped his hand for a moment. "But we're supposed to be nice, even if..." Chara did one of his creepy smiles again. "I know, but those kids are gonna learn, nobody gets to hurt you, except for me."

"If you're bad in the human world, they put you into jail." Chara sat on his bed, the door to their room shut. Earlier, he'd put a cover on their lamp so that only spots of light shone into the room. He was so cool for getting all these ideas. "Only, they don't make a difference between how bad you've been. So you can be put in with someone who's really bad when you only did a little bad. Since you're in jail anyhow, they don't care what the other guy does to you, and they can do really bad things."

"That's horrible," Asriel said, sitting by him. He'd have nightmares about that for months, but then...

Chara had been twirling his knife as usual. No matter where Mom put it, he always found it. At that point, Chara turned the knife's point to right between Asriel's eyes, the tip touching his skin. He tried not to shiver. "It is, I've been there. On accident. But look, don't you go telling Mom and Dad about this story, okay? Because they might take it wrong."

"I won't."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

There were many promises like that between them.

Like up on top of the Snowdin Library, when Chara had been making snowballs with ice and rocks in them. "Since you promise not to tell and help me, the first thing we have to do on getting back home is kill me."

"What?! We can't do that!"

He put his knife close to Asriel's face, so fast he didn't see it coming. "Shh! And we must. It's the only way."

"But..."

"The **only** way."

It was a horrible way, especially watching Chara suffer through it. But still, it was so amazing that he could inflict that on himself just to make sure his plan worked. It was the kind of self-sacrifice that only real heroes made. Asriel wished he could be that brave, be like his big brother who was so smart and strong...

His soul was like a throbbing heart, red like a human's blood. It had been hiding somewhere, waiting for their parents to leave the room. While Asriel had tried not to cry, he did. His throat hurt and he wished they hadn't done this. But he couldn't let his brother's sacrifice be in vain. He had to follow the plan, even if... even if it meant killing people. It hurt so much, but Asriel clasped the heart in his hands and

was changed.

was taken over.

"These flowers are supposed to make magic more power when worked the right way. We're pretty powerful as we are, but humans are powerful too, so any edge we can get..." knowing everything was like having an information sledgehammer slammed repeatedly into your brain, trying to fit everything inside when it wasn't possible.

Asriel opened his eyes, trying not to cry. There was darkness, darkness all around him. And... flowers. Golden magical flowers, bowing and swaying. Their seeds stuck all over his fur. And... Chara's dead body, a sickened but determined expression still on his face. That's right, the plan. And... humans, fearful, enraged, vengeful humans.

 **Kill them all, we can do this easily, the magic is right here.**

They were vengeful because they saw Chara's body and thought the worst. Thought he'd killed him. But Asriel hadn't. They attacked and it _hurt_. This whole night had been horrible, had it been a nightmare? Grabbing Chara's body and a couple of the flowers, Asriel took to the air, intending to head back home.

But they had guns and continued to shoot at him.

When he collapsed finally... no, got to get home... his parents were there, staring in shock... he, he was home... he was safe... was the nightmare over? He smiled even as the whole world faded.

And then Chara ripped into him for failing to follow through on the plan.

And then... nothing.

And then... something.

He shuddered, opening his eyes to find himself surrounded by golden flowers. He tried to sit up, but couldn't find his arms to push up with. Couldn't find his legs to sit on. Instead, he had leaves, petals, and a stem. Instead, he was a flower.

He was alone among the flowers. In the throne room, which was strange. He didn't remember the garden being like this. But he was home. He called for his parents. Maybe they knew what was going on.

They didn't come. The sunbeams turned to moonbeams.

He called for Chara. He always knew what was going on. And, they should always be together now. Right?

He didn't come. The moonbeams turned to sunbeams.

At that point, he realized something. He should have died. He did die. But, why was he in a flower now? He called out, not caring who came. Just, somebody! So he wasn't alone.

But nobody came.

Day night day night day night, but no one came.

Day... someone came. Asgore came, whistling as if it were a nice day where nothing particularly important or bad was going on. What had taken him so long? I felt so empty, so alone. And yet, I couldn't cry about it. I felt horrible, I couldn't cry.

Dad didn't want to believe it at first. I got desperate, I told him anything and everything I could think of as proof. When he finally believed, he was in tears and tried to clasp me without hurting me, because I was just a little flower now. He sang for me, he shared stories, he smiled, he tried to make it seem like home. For a bit, I thought I was happy.

I thought. I wasn't happy, not really. And when I realized that, I truly realized the emptiness inside me like an ache that can't be soothed. I wanted feelings that weren't possible. Nothing had changed, Dad was there and I still felt empty and alone. When I tried to hide out of not being able to cry, I discovered that I could borrow out of there. So I did. I asked a bunch of people what was going on. Alphys knew, but she was preoccupied with her other determination experiments and my feelings didn't change. I kept running.

Eventually, I found my way into the locked off Ruins, where I thought I would be alone. But no, she was there. I'd found Mom and again, I thought I had hope for finding that feeling of being home. She reacted much the same as Dad, tears and smiles, wondering what I could eat as a flower. She sang for me, had recreated our home as best she could.

But I still wasn't happy. I couldn't love even Mom. I did feel something, but what I felt was that I was the worst being in existence. I'd messed up Chara's plans, I'd ruined Mom and Dad's lives, I'd brought despair to the underground. And I couldn't feel sorry for it, not one bit! I couldn't feel love. I wanted to cease to exist, end what should have already ended.

And so, I did. But as I was fading away, I wondered what would happen to me, being nothing. That frightened me so completely that I thought, I don't want to die! And so, I didn't. I accidentally loaded for the first time and found myself right back where I had started as a flower. Right back at four days of being utterly alone.

Needless to say, I had a lot of time to think.

I soon figured out how to load and save on purpose. From there, I went about trying to find a way to be happy and feel something other than fear and loneliness. I tried everything; I was nice to everybody, found out what they liked, became friends to every monster in the underground, big and small. None of them could make me feel anything. So I did some research and discovered that I had no soul. And because I had no soul, I could never feel love, joy, hope, or a great many things. Never again.

I was so enraged that for the first time, I killed others. I was just lashing out blindly, but there were feelings in that. Hate, anger... a kind of joy in death, dust, and destruction. Around that time, I discovered how to manipulate time even more. In another fit of anger, I gave Alphys a scare she'll never forget. Heh, no matter how I change time, I will not stop that from happening. **It's her fault I'm this way, she deserves all the self-destructive loathing I can give her.**

However, there were other things that I had to change. I started killing monsters off out of curiosity. There were four Royal Scientists alive at one point, the fourth being Dr. Alphys. I killed the oldest of the Gasters and then his three sons put me through hell in vengeance. When they're motivated, even Papyrus can be a horrific opponent to face in battle. I had to use their own research against them to go back to well before I even awoke as a flower to destroy them completely from time. Except, obviously it didn't work so well. But no matter, I own their souls now and their hellish power is mine.

But you know, there was a time there when I didn't have the power to save and load. You know when that happened? When you came into the underground. Although, not exactly you. You see, this particular set of days has been repeating itself for eons, it seems. I don't have that power, but there are other things I've been able to do, as long as I played by the script. Heh, and trust me, the script was quite loose so there was a lot of possibilities.

In the end, a script's a script and we can't go outside of it. At least, that shouldn't be possible. And then something funny happened. When the choice to begin again was made, a coin was flipped and both sides were chosen. It turned the script into something different, something we're going through right now. You've been doing things that even I can't predict. Both sides of the coin have gone outside the script; you' be amazed at what the other side has pulled off now. After he... he...

after Chara killed...

…

"No he didn't, he didn't..." the seed bullets dropped to the ground, vanishing.

Frisk had been tripped up by a moving vine while Flowey had been telling that story, but she hadn't gotten up from sitting since them. She was small here, surrounded by a... surrounded by Flowey. All around and round, leaving her just a little room of bare ground. Prickly thorns bigger than her lined slithering vines that were bigger than any tree she'd ever see. Smaller vines wove and waved along the ground, making it treacherous to walk anywhere if she dared. In the flickering light of the barrier, she could see unnatural shadows beyond the vines. Steam crackles flicker static in the echo of a tortured face of silent scream and Flowey wept.

"Chara killed you?" Frisk asked, keeping her knees close to her chest defensively.

"No no no no no no no!" Flowey shrieked, quaking and pummeling the room.

She winced as leaves, flies, and dust started to fly. Something snapped by her ear, making her turn her head to briefly see a flash of sharp green teeth snapping within a foot of her before whatever it was withdrew into a shadowy space. Frisk whimpered, burying her face in the doll. What now?

"Maybe it was the girl, he would not have killed me," Flowey said. "Yeah, yeah, that had to be it. Chara and I are best friends, best friends forever. That'll always be true. Besides, I finally overcame my last obstacle!" He laughed weirdly, then stopped all of a sudden. Everything stopped. When she dared to peek out, the light was intense around her and things moved in the darkness. "Or maybe, not my last. There's you to deal with."

What did she say? What did she do? Frisk looked for some hints, but even larger teeth chattered above her and she didn't want to look at that. Or at the sinuous vines, looking like they were breathing. There was the creepy TV, now with Flowey's maniacal face and rainbow eyes on it. Yet, somehow he was also Asriel.

"We could just reset everything right now, given the soul power I have," he said. "It'd be easier. I mean, we both know that you don't have anything you can do to me. Although, your tears are _delicious_. Heh, after such naive bright-eyed optimism, you're starting to see the reality you're in, aren'tcha? I could kill you and save right away and you would have no chance of coming back from that. There's no end to this nightmare for you."

She had to try something. It was really hard here, but she felt a reassuring feeling from the hair ribbon she'd used to swear the oath with Sans. Think of her friends here, and back home, and her family... even Asriel.

In the meantime, Flowey kept talking, making something flit around just behind her. "Yes, I could kill you, but I want to really see you **squirm**. Hee hee, maybe if I flay away all your hopes and dreams, then even your determination will fail. That would be so... unsettling... no no, I want to see you suffer!" CRACK

LOAD STATE THREE

She felt sick. Still, she had to try. Flowey laughed and flies buzzed around her head, but Frisk ignored them as best she could. Think of bringing all her new friends out into the sunshine of the surface...

She used Mercy on Flowey and he shrieked as if she'd thrown boiling water on him. It chilled her blood, why? She was trying to pacify him with happiness; she'd managed to do it with lots of other monsters.

After nearly a minute of the deafening shrill, his massive body shook and it was like he was breathing heavily in pain. Frisk carefully got back on her feet although her knees still felt weak. She'd be all right as long as she didn't give up. Maybe it was a nightmare, but if she could turn it into a good dream, perhaps...

"Heh... heh..." his grinning face appeared on the screen. crackLOAD "Geh... you idiot. crackLOAD You know nothing. crackLOAD Mercy only works on those who can feel it. crackLOAD For those with emptiness in their hearts, crackLOAD for those above a certain level of violence, crackLOAD well, crackLOAD it does absolutely nothing. crackLOAD You crackLOAD can crackLOAD do crackLOAD absolutely crackLOAD nothing crackLOAD to crackLOAD me. crackLOAD Unless, are you willing to fight for your life? Because I have no qualms of killing you, none!" crackLOAD

He could kill her in so many ways and she could feel them all at once.

Flowey laughed hysterically, his vines racing around.

Things got darker. _no no_

"So what are you going to do now?" A smaller vine poked at the oath ribbon. "You're all alone, got nobody to help you, and you've met the remorseless killer that has got you completely defenseless. And nobody's going to come in to rescue you, believe me" _not frisk not frisk please no_

Her vision was blurred in tears and she trembled. But in the darkness, a faint whisper bounced around. A familiar one. "Y-you got Asriel too."

"I am Asriel, we're both echoes of Asriel!" Flowey insisted. _we are asriel_ "But even together, we can't be whole." _i felt mercy_ "Bah, but that doesn't matter! You will not hold me back any longer! **I will see you suffer and I will enjoy it**." _no no_

Maybe Mercy didn't work on Flowey, but it was working on Asriel. And if his story was right, then there might be a way to put Asriel in charge instead of Flowey. Asriel... she had to save Asriel. Putting her spirits back together, she used it again on him.

Was Mercy actually hurting him? Frisk couldn't be sure. "STOP THAT!" Flowey screamed. Red lines raced at her and her Mercy got sealed again. But she couldn't get it back like she had against Asgore. She'd never even purposely loaded before, there was no way she could figure that out now.

 _Mom? Dad? I'm scared, it's so dark, flowers in the darkness._

The nightmare hadn't ended, she'd only got past the start. But that reminded Frisk of a particular song. She'd heard it first from Toriel in the Ruins, though she'd only thought that it was a nice song. Then there was that ferry person who'd hummed a part of it. And that was how Toriel and Asgore had gotten Asriel to calm down.

Frisk tried humming the song herself. She wasn't entirely sure if she was getting it right, but she hoped it might still have an effect. Maybe even on Flowey?

"Oh, so you're going to hide your eyes and pretend nothing is wrong?" Flowey said in a falsely friendly voice. "How ridiculous. You can fight, you know. You've been able to all along. And unless you wish to die a million times over, which I have no problem with granting that wish, it is your only option. Come on, Frisk. **Play with me**."

 _almost..._ the whispers started humming while Flowey spoke.

After listening for a moment, Frisk changed to match the tune better. Feelings and memories like what she used for Mercy came up even though she couldn't use the spell. Would the song be enough?

Things quieted down so there was only the hiss of steam and the haunting hums. When she peeked at the screen, Flowey even looked dumbfounded. "Huh, wait? That song... why are you humming it? It means nothing to you, it's a song of the monsters. It..."

Then Asriel appeared in front of her, like he had in the mists of Waterfall. "Invading invading, the history of the world burns," he said, seeming limp like a doll there. "Touching everyone's minds I can see beyond the horizons of knowledge and..." Then his head snapped up, his eyes fearful. "I... Frisk, thanks, but I don't have long before I fall crash through the depths."

"No Asriel, I'll save you," she said without thinking.

He smiled sadly at that and shook his head. "Thanks, but don't try. You should escape the darkness, leave my nightmares. Now, strangers and friends were turned into flowers. There are flowers in the darkness. Give Mercy to the flowers and find them; you may not find yourself alone for long. You may even find a way to reach the flower at the center of the darkness."

"He sealed my Mercy." It seemed like a plan to try if she could.

"Don't use it on him until you've freed the flowers," Asriel said, waving as if beckoning. The magic came undone. "Without Chara, I am nothing. And Chara," he suddenly did the weird laugh cry that Flowey had before, then faded backwards into the darkness. Into a gap under one of Flowey's huge vines. _How did this even happen?_

"Hey, quit messing with my soul!" Flowey hissed. His deadly vines raced towards her.

Frisk ran for the gap and crawled under the vine fast enough that she banged her knees on the floor. But there wasn't time to pay attention to that. There were a pair of flowers just in front of her if she got through here.


	19. Flowers in the Darkness

**Chapter 19: Flowers in the Darkness**

Gusts of fire came from overhead, but did little to light this area underneath Flowey. But the flowers held a magical glow, guiding Frisk towards them. And there were more than just two. A white daisy had a pale blue glow while a yellow marigold had an orange glow, with clusters of tiny purple periwinkles growing on the vine that held them captive. Out of most of the weirdness, Frisk found it easier to pull together Mercy to use on the flowers.

When she did, something strange happened. The enormous vines surrounding her vanished, to be replaced with a hazy scene of a lake. Even if she couldn't see it clearly, Frisk recognized it as one outside of Ebott Town. There was a teen girl fishing with her dad, while a teen boy trained on his own by punching the air with his fists. But the scenes flickered, never overlapping.

"I want to be a doctor, maybe a surgeon. The school counselor said I need to take a lot of the harder classes, but I know I can do it." _Your determination is good, but your patience is your strongest trait._

"You're not going to show me up this time, I will make it to the regionals." _Your determination is good, but your_ _courage_ _is your strongest trait._

"Chaaaraaa! Come on please?" He jumped to grab the box, but his brother laughed and kept it out of reach until Toriel insisted he share.

"Huh?" Frisk wondered about these flickering scenes. Maybe it was like a dream, except she wasn't asleep. But, perhaps the two souls that were strangers were the other humans. "Hey, wake up! Flowey's got you captured and I could use your help. Please."

The view around her flickered even more. Then she was in a snowy woods with the door to the Ruins in sight. Close by, the girl, now with a long messy ponytail, no shoes, and dirty clothes, sat crying. "Why do you want to do that?" she mumbled. "I want to help people, not hurt them. Get out of my head, please."

 _If you're scared... do something about it... don't just... sit and cry... geez, you're going to wake the crybaby._

Then two shadows approached from the east. One was a blook, although not the one Frisk knew. But, she did recognize the other figure, towering and imposing. There wasn't much said, but he summoned a magical trident. _Dad? Dad! It's me, weird things are happening and... Dad? N-n-no! Don't...!_

 _Well there goes the first soul._ **If she'd just fought, she'd have been strong enough to defend herself** _._

Frisk shivered, recalling the time that Asgore had killed her too. Now she could see the other girl clearly; she was in better shape. "I don't know if he meant it, but we were trapped in the castle able to see into various parts of the underground," she said. "Man, I was such a coward. Monsters aren't as scary as I thought; some of them are probably more scared of us than we are of them."

"This flower's a nightmare, though," Frisk said.

"Oh wait, you're hurt." She came over and cast a healing spell over her. It even helped where she'd hit her knees on the floor while trying to reach the flowers. "I can heal, but I don't think anything else I can do would help..."

The scene shifted to another part of Snowdin forest. The boy who'd been practicing was trying to run through a swarm of magical spears. "What do you expect me to do when you creeps start a battle out of nowhere, sit there and take it?" he shouted angrily.

"You didn't have to kill them all!" Undyne shouted, keeping out of his reach. She was different here, younger. "Especially not the innocent kids! You're a menace and I will stop you right here."

"Damn, she was right about me," the boy said as the scene cracked with his death. "I thought they were out to kill me, but a bunch of them probably thought they were saying hello. But let me at this nightmare flower, see if I can't redeem myself that way."

"Oh, then I'll keep you healthy," the girl said.

"I came in that way," Frisk said, pointing to the tunnel. Was it bigger than before? Because there was another tunnel nearby that seemed like she could run through it. "I've got to find the other souls."

"We'll give it our all," the boy said, getting the girl to nod in agreement. They hurried off through the tunnel.

Frisk hurried along her way, whirling around a twist and finding three different ways to go. But there were some flowers in view along one path. There, a white pansy held a purple glow while a red thistle flower held a dark blue glow. And there were more of those little periwinkles, at least one of them with a red glint inside. Maybe these were dreams within the nightmare. She used Mercy on them to see what dreams came.

This time, the scene shifted to a library; a big symbol for the Ebott Middle School was on the wall, although this didn't look like the middle school library that Frisk knew. Maybe it had been redone at some time. There were two kids at a study table, also a girl and a boy. This wasn't an overlapping scene, they'd been in the same place at the same time.

"I can't decide between being a ballerina or a kick boxer, so I might as well see about being great at both, right? But I couldn't take that offer because it stunk of shady moves. I'll get through on my own hard work." _Your determination is good, but your_ _integrity_ _is your best trait._

"Heh, I can't decide either. I'd like to be a historian, but I'm having fun writing for the school paper. But anyhow, what exactly seemed shady to you about it? It would've been a great opportunity." _Your determination is good, but your_ _perseverance_ _is your best trait._

"What makes you think you can be a hero? You cry too easily. Although, maybe I could help you, if you help me." Chara tweaked Asriel's ear, smiling darkly. Asriel's smile was bright in trust.

"You don't help someone by talking to them like that," Frisk said. Maybe they could hear her. More certainly, these two should hear her. "Hey, wake up. We're gonna free everyone."

This time, she saw the two teens, maybe friends, walking through the marshes of Waterfall. "It's really interesting seeing their version of history," the boy said, writing in a notebook as they went along the piers. "From the way they put it, it was a one-sided massacre."

"They probably spun it that way so that they didn't look like the bad guys to their descendants," the girl said. Then they appeared clearer and she was dressed as a ballerina in pink. "That's what I thought, but..."

The boy had odd glasses, still hanging onto his notebook. "Someone who has the intent to kill a monster will kill the monster under most circumstances. Only a few can push or train themselves into a state where they can match humans fairly in battle."

"What about this giant flower that stole everyone's soul?" Frisk asked.

Shifting his glasses, he said, "Uh, well, I don't really know. I remember my mom saying that weeds had to be destroyed through the roots or they'd just grow back. So, I'd guess we'd have to find some way to reach and attack the roots."

"If we can do that, I can probably wreck it," the girl claimed, looking around.

"By kicking?" the boy asked. "Well, uh, if it's you, maybe. I'll see if I spot anything weird."

"It's all weird, but go around that way to get to where the other two are," Frisk said, pointing them in the direction to go.

This way was a dead end, so they could probably tell not to go further. Frisk went back to the fork in the path, peeking down the other two ways. One went deeper while the other was also a dead end with flowers. Although, this set she didn't know the names of except for the periwinkles; red sparks glittered from flower to flower. But as she used Mercy on them, she had the thought that they were a crocus of a green glow and hyacinth of a yellow glow.

There were mad screams from elsewhere as the scene shifted, Flowey fighting with the ghosts.

Again, the place was familiar and not, the playground that the schools shared. There were a number of shadows around making a vague image of recess. However, two shadows seemed more vivid, one of a girl not much older than her chatting by the jungle gym and one of a high school boy who was standing against a wall with others.

"Magic cooking is real cooking! It's just whether the food is magical or not, they're both good. Come on and try it!" _Your determination is good, but your kindness is your strongest trait._

"I'm not a recess monitor to suck up to the teachers, I'm here to make sure nobody gets hurt. With that kind of attitude, you're just like the monsters from long ago." _Heh, you'll be fun to let loose on them. Your determination is great, but justice is your strongest trait._

"Everyone?! Weren't we just going to get rid of humanity and let us monsters live on the surface in peace?" "I've been watching through these _players (no)_ six; everyone is pathetic, making excuses for doing what they do instead of being honest. And eradicating the monsters is going to be the most efficient way to get powerful enough to eradicate humans." "You've changed, you're not like my big brother!" "Oh really?"

He knew, so why couldn't he let go? She'd have to ask if he appeared again. "Wake up, we need your help. Whatever you can do."

The girl appeared first, looking like she'd just been working in the kitchen. "I messed up a few times, but I won't now! I know some fire spells, that should help."

On the other hand, the boy definitely looked like he could help, dressed like a cowboy with dusty blue jeans and a cowboy hat. He even had a gun with a holster at his waist. "Man, I thought I was doing a great thing, but it was horrible. But I'll help you save them now."

"Good, we'll do it together," Frisk said, smiling again. This was good, but it'd be better when she could get her monster friends to help too.

Off through the vines, they heard, "I own your souls! Stop fighting me!" The girl used a fire spell to burn away a group of smaller vines, which got them onto a huge vine above the area the other four were fighting in. It seemed a lot bigger than before.

As the other two went to join them, Frisk went back to the middle passage to look for more flowers. What she found was another dead end, along with a group of buttercups and periwinkles around a single sunflower. There was something that bugged her about this, but there wasn't time to think it over. She used Mercy on these flowers too, and then…

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"I guess that means you really are Asriel too because nobody else could screw up that badly while claiming to love me. But you know what? You're just his essence, which makes you absolutely worthless to me. So let's see what makes a flower die." His brother's red eyes were filled with such rage and hatred.

His brother's brown eyes were sharp, intelligent. "Listen, I know what they say we're all supposed to be like, but I find that very few people are actually that way. You're really authentic in caring, though. When I look in your eyes, I see someone great waiting to emerge. I want to help you get that way." I want to help you to steal that greatness from you. Those admiring eyes are precious, but I keep imagining the horror and betrayal to come and I want that even more.

I… do… I do want it. But no one else looks at me like you do. But I need you to fulfill my goals, to make things better. I need to destroy you. And yet, I have a small thought that doesn't want to. It's impossible, I have a hollow heart and can't feel anything like that. I will destroy… or maybe I'll keep you around as a puppet. Yeah, that works better. I'll show you how much better it is my way and get you to enjoy it too. But, where's the real Asriel, not these shades?

Why does Chara like to watch pain? He liked the suffering of the girl who didn't want to fight or leave the Ruins. He liked watching the boxer, the ballerina, and the cowboy beat up and kill monsters. He got annoyed with how the cook couldn't decide if she should kill or not, and he really despised the writer who didn't want to attack but tried to be brave. When I see the things he likes, I'm scared or disgusted. It isn't right. But, it's Chara, he must be right in some way. But he likes to hurt me now, no, he's just trying to teach me some lesson, but it's not right, but maybe I'm not seeing things right, but…

I don't know what's right or wrong anymore! I can't betray Chara again, I was horrible for that. But what he wants to do should be horrible. Why why why?!

Maybe something messed up Chara when he died. Right, that has to be it. She's like how I feel he should be. I wish I could remember more. I'm sure he was like Frisk when he was alive. At least I'm having some fun with her, I can be happy sometimes. Oh, I don't want this to end.

It's all backwards and inside-out. Bad things make me feel good and good things make me feel nothing. Why I am able to exist just as memories and essence? I should be dead! But if I do end up dying, that's it. I have no soul, so there will be nothing left of me. Why am I allowed to exist like this?! It's so unfair! I should just burn the whole world with me!

Chara would be able to do that. He'd understand. And, I think I understand better now, he's more like I am now than when I was alive. Yes, he'll understand. His soul is strong enough to persist. I just have to find him and help him become even stronger. He'll understand, it'll be fun to work with him again. And this time, I won't mess up.

...but I did and he killed me for it…

"Frisk!" Asriel appeared in front of her in a black starry space; his image was blurry like it was made of static. "I told you to ignore me and save the others!"

"I'm trying to find everybody, including you," she said.

"No!" He then reformed, but not as she'd seen him before. Instead, he was a full sized monster like his parents, but with pale yellow fur and a golden flower over his left eye. Some of the stars seemed to move behind him strangely. "This is all going wrong, you, you… how..." he gripped his twisted horns like his head hurt terribly.

"What's the matter?" Frisk asked, coming closer.

He flew back, making them appear within the maze of Flowey's vines. "Undertale by Toby Fox," he said. A vine grew beneath him as a pair parted overhead, making a path upward. "LOAD STATE THREE by Ysavvryl. Chapter One: Fractured Minds. never end never end never end Well thanks for that mess." His words grew faster, then unintelligible like Wing's words did as he floated off and disappeared.

"Asriel!" She ran up the vine after him, ending up in a place full of dark vines, metal platforms, and pulsating pipes, all behind the weird TV face. But, he wasn't here anymore. Or maybe he was, just not visible because he was a ghost.

There was a cluster of flowers back here, all of a pretty dark blue although she didn't recognize what the three of them were. Maybe those were her friends now. When she cast Mercy on them, she got the idea that they were a chrysanthemum, a poppy, and a sun morpheus. But shouldn't the last flower at least be golden? Frisk wasn't sure about the other two, but she knew the sacred flower only came in yellow gold.

However, that didn't matter. This time, she ended up in Snowdin Forest. It seemed like a quiet opening in the trees, a place she didn't recognize. Then a shadow popped out of the ground, exactly like Flowey's normal self. He seemed to be looking around.

Sans appeared suddenly behind Flowey, causing sparks to appear all around "You are not getting away this time," he threatened in a way Frisk had never heard him talk before.

"What, are you out to judge me?" Flowey asked sharply, sending out a cluster of vine spikes from the ground. "You know nothing about me."

Sans just teleported elsewhere. "You killed our father and forced Papyrus to gain LOVE. That's all I need to know to fight you."

"This was before that accident, huh?" Frisk asked. "Or after when this part of time was undone, I suppose."

In the fight, Flowey got himself through Sans' first attack with a wicked grin on his face. "You don't know anything, that will ruin you."

"Are you so sure about that?" Wing asked, appearing in the middle of the opening with Papyrus. "We know you're the one mucking about with timelines."

"Yeah, and that's going to end right now," Papyrus added. "You've gone too far, flower."

"I'm not afraid of you three," Flowey said. And then they triple attacked him, not even holding back individually like other monsters tended to do when they formed teams. Flowey was kept from burrowing due to Sans' initial spell and thus the fight was fierce but brief.

Before they could even acknowledge their victory, the whole world cracked apart into nothing.

 _I loaded elsewhere, so after a lot of failed attempts to beat the trio, or even separate them, I burrowed straight for the door to the Ruins where they could not follow. I came out among the cluster of golden flowers that grows at the furthest ends of that place. While I was thinking there, I came up with the idea to use their own time travel technology against them. Even the plan that got me in the lab when all three of them were hunting for me. Was it the other flowers helping me think? Or was it even my own idea? Chara... he could have helped me then without me realizing it. See, he does care! He helped me past an obstacle I could not overcome myself._

"But you did something really bad to them," Frisk said. "But, you were living without love or hope." It was a strange thing, like she knew Asgore was really sad being alone but also that he'd helped kill six other kids. And killed her once. Still, Asgore wanted to be good. Maybe even Flowey still wanted to be good in some way. It was just finding a way to remind him of that. But they had to stop him first. "Sans, Papyrus, Dr. Gaster? Come on, wake up."

The three of them reappeared in the starry dark space; Papyrus looked confused. "So it did happen but it didn't and what will happen... oh my god, I can't keep up!"

"Don't worry about that past," Sans said. The dark space was fading into the strange thing that Flowey was now, them standing on a metal platform with some vine steps down to where the other humans were holding their ground. Hisses of steam and clinks of metal pipes filled the air.

"Yes, right now we need to be fighting for a future," Wing said. "We don't know what's coming. Then again, the fact that we don't is a thing to have hope in."

"Well Flowey isn't bad, I'll just get him to stop this so we can figure things out," Papyrus said before jumping down the vines to the open space.

"I'll protect him since you'd better stick with your partner," Wing said, vanishing from the spot.

"Right," Sans said. "So what's your plan?"

"I don't know," Frisk said. "Flowey is like, Asriel's mind because he remembers stuff from his life, but the Asriel I knew was his soul. And that one has been floating around saying weird stuff. He did ask me to use Mercy on the flowers that everybody got turned into. I have to find Undyne, Alphys, Toriel, and Asgore now. Um, I think I should find the king and queen last cause neither Flowey or Asriel are acting right and I don't know if it'll get worse or better with them."

"Huh, well," he held his right hand up, making a soft glow appear around it. The spell led him to point off into the vine-filled darkness. "Got them found. Come on."

Sans offered a hand to her, so Frisk took it and they jumped without really moving to another part of Flowey's body. There were more metallic and industrial structures, but it all seemed like a living breathing being as well. Over here, there was a green iris that seemed to lean so that it didn't hide a yellow violet cluster growing close to it. The colors were definitely odd, but her Mercy confirmed what she thought they were.

She found herself back in Waterfall, in a room where several falls made shallow streams along the road. Again, Flowey popped up out of the ground, between a pair of streams. Blue spears shot up around him, but missed entirely. Undyne then stormed into the room, wearing her black armor. "I will chase you down and tear you up, flower!" she shouted, trying to pin him with a flurry of spears.

Since he didn't have a soul to fight with, he shifted his blossom about to avoid them. "No you won't," Flowey said vainly. A vine sprouted rapidly along the floor, then grabbed Undyne's foot and threw her off the path. While she fell, he laughed in triumph. However, that stopped abruptly. "Nah, that was a cheap shot, I'll get a legitimate victory against you."

Then he reset time. And she struck him down hard so he had to reset again. And again. And again. Frisk knew how that felt, but she was here to get her friends. "Undyne! It's just a dream, wake up! I need your help."

The scene stopped flickering and Undyne was there with her. She looked annoyed. "I spent how long just trying to kill some crazy flower?" she muttered. "And I don't remember a bit of it, how...?"

"He could save and load at that point too," Frisk said.

"Hmm." She then looked down at her, quietly adding, "How many times did I end up killing you? Frisk, I..."

She smiled at her. "Don't worry about it, we're friends now. We're all gonna work together to stop Flowey."

Chuckling, she gave a nod. "Right, I really respect that attitude of yours. All right, I'm behind you! Nobody chose him to be our god and we're going to take that power back from him."

"Yup! But, I thought Alphys was going to be here too."

"Alphys?"

Even as Undyne said it, the area around shifted to another place: the garden in the throne room. Alphys was already there, searching around the center. "I know I marked it low, but maybe Asgore still found it," she mumbled.

"Whatcha looking for?" Flowey asked, showing his face in a group of the golden flowers just behind her.

"Whoa!" Alphys jumped aside and nearly stumbled, but then she got fascinated when she saw the flower chuckling. "Wait, you, are you the flower I was experimenting on?"

He bobbed his head in a nod. "Yup, howdy! I call myself Flowey. I'm the one that you shot up with determination, trying to make a vessel for empowered monster souls to break down the barrier."

"You know about that?" she asked, not as nervous as Frisk knew her to be. But she was getting a little nervous, tapping a phone she had.

His smile turned dark. "Oh yes, I know all about what you did." Dozens of his vines shot out of the flowers, wrapped Alphys up tight, and picked her up off the ground effortlessly. "I know that you're the one who made my life a living hell. I have determination and memories of love, but not love itself. Do you know what that feels like? Can you imagine it? **It makes me want to destroy this whole pointless experience.** It makes me want to kill you, but you know what? I know everything you've done in this misguided experimentation with determination, you horrible person. Because of that, well, I'd rather you live with the consequences." He then dropped her while laughing madly, fleeing before she could get back on her feet.

 _Watching her fall apart from guilt was so satisfying. I wish she had gone into the abyss as she'd originally planned. But then this jerk fish had to ruin my revenge at the last moment._

"Alphys!" Undyne called, clenching a fist. "How dare he talk to her like that."

"Alphys, come on, we need your help too," Frisk called.

When she appeared, she was trembling. "O-oh, um, I, I don't know if, if I can really help much..."

"Come on, Alphys, you can do something," Undyne said sternly. "I know you can, and I'll protect you from anything he tries to do to you. You're a scientist, think like one!"

Alphys eyes went wide. "Aah, um, yes, I am... you know, it was decades between when Asriel died and when I woke Flowey up with the determination injection. But a few other encounters with him suggest that he does hold Asriel's memories. But how? I know a monster's essence can linger with sometimes with items, but how do the memories last so long? Or is Flowey a special case because of Asriel's native high rank as a royal child?"

"Well let's go ask him and see if he knows anything," Undyne said.

"Yeah, keep him distracted while I get Asgore and Toriel," Frisk said.

"S-sure, I'll do my best," Alphys said, thinking.

They then reappeared in the weird metal area behind Flowey's TV face. Sans was there waiting. "Back from your spirit journey, huh?" he asked, then pointed towards an opening in the pipes. "There's a sort of staircase out that way to where everyone else is gathering."

"How are they doing fighting this abomination?" Undyne asked, checking around the area.

"It's slow going, but they're getting the upper hand now. And he's losing power with every soul he loses, so we can turn this around."

"We'll probably get the best results if we wait until the king and queen can talk to him," Alphys said. "Hopefully if he remembers more of who he is, he'll back down himself."

"Yeah, good luck," Frisk said. Undyne and Alphys then headed down to help with the main battle while Sans got her to another part of this place.

They appeared back underneath the giant vines, in a tiny space that both of them could touch the ceiling of. There didn't even seem to be a way into this place. For three-quarters of the space, a single giant vine curved about to act as a thorny wall. The last quarter, or even less than that, was blocked off with a bunch of smaller vines that would need to be burned to get them out of here. In this little prison, there was a pair of white flowers streaked with red, which her Mercy identified as a snowdrop and zinnia.

For a moment, Frisk was shocked to see a sunny sky overhead again. Grasses waved in the wind and ducks swam on a wide river nearby. This must have been from a very long time ago, back when monsters still lived on the surface. Close to her, shadow memories walked by. "One person should not have so much power as to dominate the lives of everyone else," Toriel said, then sighed. "I'm tired of all this war, I don't want to talk about it."

"I'd be glad not to while we're not on duty," Asgore agreed. After a moment in which she still seemed down, he smiled, took her hand, then twirled her around a bit. "We could dance if you'd rather, it's a nice day for it."

"Oh Gorey," she said, giggling.

 _They're worthless to me, they can't make me feel anything. But they are the only high-ranked monsters in the underground. If they had the will to, they could stop me easily, especially since they both wield fire. I should just... I should kill... it would make most sense, get rid of the biggest threats and send the whole underground into despair with their deaths. That would awaken the primal brutal spirit in many monsters, causing an interesting amount of chaos. But even with all that I hate them for not being able to let me feel love again, I just can't kill them. I, I can't kill my parents. Heh, even if takes a lot of convincing to get them to realize who I am, I still can't bring myself to kill them. **So it feels so (awful) good that I could finally do it.**_

"I'm really not sure about that child," Asgore said in concern, pacing around the kitchen.

Toriel was cooking with magic at the counter. "He's a troubled boy, but I don't think he'll be trouble. He's been well behaved and polite so far."

"Have you checked his soul, though? His LOVE is high, in criminal range. And there's always that low burning feeling of hate and pain close to him."

"I think it's mostly pain. After all, the books that come from the surface do mention that humans believe anyone who goes up Mt. Ebott will disappear forever. Even where the Ruins are, he was in trouble to come to a place he could enter them through. I noticed the LOVE rating too, but remember when we came up with that?"

"Right, when some of the monsters imprisoned down here got mentally unstable and went primal."

She nodded. "Perhaps it will not read the same in a human and that number is misleading. I'm sure that if he's treated well, his soul will heal up and he'll be a normal good person."

 _Those two were so embarrassing to be around. I couldn't see how anyone could really feel so strongly about someone else that they'd act so stupid with each other. Even Asriel got embarrassed about them at times. But even while they were so lovey-dovey, I saw little fractures like this. Mostly they forgave each other of their faults and what friction there was, but it's nice to know my plan smashed them totally apart. Love is not forever, love is not all powerful, love... well, Asriel was the first person to ever authentically care about me, to love me as his friend and brother. But his parents did come to love and care for me too. I can't feel love, but I didn't truly feel that lacking until I was with them. It was painful, something that made me depressed for a bit and think I should..._

Doors shut. In opposite ends of the underground, they leaned against the door, the anger smoldering down to ashes. Now it was just smoke of pain and loss, obscuring all else. The one they had walked alongside for so long... the ones they failed to protect... in such a lonely place, everything in life had lost its color. There was no returning home from this.

 _Sob... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ruin everything for everyone, I thought I was doing the best thing, I thought I was doing good, I know you said it wasn't me, but it really was me, wasn't it? It was me... ha..ha... HA HA HA HA HA! **No, I'm looking at this all wrong, I put the fragments together in the wrong way. They failed me, they even apologized and their hearts were in such turmoil, hee hee, but what can they really do, seriously? What can anybody do? I'm dead, the world's about to end, and all I've been doing is narrating some crazy illusion that some cat time lord author put together. And the story's about to end, like all stories do. Ha ha ha...**_ _sob... no don't let it end, I was happy for a few moments, I just want to be happy again, let's just start over. Don't leave, don't leave me alone. Frisk, don't leave me alone. **And god dammit Frisk, stop helping me unless you're going to reset it all!**_

"I'll save you, Asriel," Frisk said.

And without her even calling on them, Toriel and Asgore showed up in the darkness with her. "What's going on with Asriel?" they both asked, then looked at each other for doing so.

There wasn't a lot of time to explain. "Well it's complicated, but Flowey has Asriel's mind while Asriel's soul is wandering around separately here. They probably should be together, but neither of them will calm down from this weirdness. I got the human souls and our other friends to try stopping Flowey since he keeps killing everybody lots of times."

"That flower was a part of Asriel all along?" Toriel asked, unsure what to think of that.

"And now that I've got everybody out of being flowers, I can try Mercy on him again," Frisk said. "Or a group of us could, it's going to take a lot to reach him."

"We'll try," Asgore said. Toriel nodded and they appeared back in the separated vine prison. Thankfully, it had grown so that the two larger monsters could stand there. They had to burn their way past the smaller vines, letting the four of them into the battleground.

Although at this point, there wasn't much fighting going on. Some were hanging back healing the others while Alphys, Papyrus, and Wing were trying to talk to Flowey. "Well yes," Alphys said, a hand on her chin, "if the time manipulation powers are fueled by determination, then the person with the strongest determination will end up controlling them."

"The major powers, not all of them," Wing said. "I can't imagine how big of a mess would come about of multiple individuals with such power encountering each other, it's crazy enough manipulating with lower abilities as a team."

"But you've got to use such powers responsibly!" Papyrus said. "Come on Flowey, you were doing well in what you were doing before, you should work to make the world better."

"The world's a sham, so why should I try making it better?" Flowey insisted grouchily.

"We can combine our efforts, Frisk," Asgore said quietly, although he wasn't looking at her. "Toriel?'

"Yes, if it saves Asriel for good," Toriel agreed, not looking at him.

"We can do it," Frisk said, then led them in casting Mercy on Flowey again. Sans vanished momentarily, but appeared by Wing and got with him to pull others out of the way.

"Hey, what...?" Flowey asked, and then screamed again as three separate Mercy spells struck him. Both Asgore and Toriel flinched at that, but Frisk kept her spell strong to the end. With the big screen showing static, Flowey's body went quiet. "Huh, why... why? Dad, Mom?"

"Asriel," Toriel said, walking ahead and looking up at where the screen was. "Calm down, this isn't like you."

Asgore joined her. "Pull yourself together. You know what's right, do what's in your heart."

Shuddering, Flowey sobbed for a few seconds. "I-I... I..."

LOAD STATE THREE

He broke out into hysterical laughter.

Clutching her doll, Frisk looked around and found that everyone she had freed was gone. She was in a small space, surrounding by giant vines and standing in a growth of periwinkle vines. "Huh? But..."

"It's hopeless," Asriel's drifting soul said, still in his adult form. "I told you we'd be better off resetting. I tried to keep you out of this nightmare."

Meanwhile, the screen showed Flowey with a mad smile. "Well that was fun, wasn't it?" He brushed her head with a vine. "All your hard work gone down the drain, just like that. And that's just going to keep happening, over and over again until I finally get bored of playing with you and end things once and for all."

"I..." but what did she do? There had to be something, something to stop them from this cruel game.

"Think over all that you've seen on this journey, all that you've learned," Asriel said, his eyes closed. A strange light glowed near his neck.

"And know that it's totally worthless now because I'm the one that can erase it all," Flowey cackled. "There is nothing more you can do, all alone in the darkness! Nobody will come."

"It can't end like this!" Frisk called. "They'll come back... come on, wake up!"

In the quiet of the darkness, the flowers under her feet swayed. Those periwinkles, they'd been with some of the others but hadn't really called on anybody. Maybe she was supposed to use Mercy on them? But they glittered red like blood, which was unnerving. "A long time ago," Asriel said, still not looking, "wreaths of periwinkle were placed on the graves of children."

"And your point is?" Flowey asked. "Nobody's coming, their souls belong to me. It's just us..." the red sparkles began to rise, "Wait, what?"

They gathered to one point, opening a doorway into the air itself. Frisk hoped for a moment that it was going to be someone with the answers to solve this dilemma. Although who, she didn't know. Then something walked through.

The nightmare grew deeper, darker.

"What is going on here?" Chara asked, scorn in his words.

Asriel opened his eyes, a red glow coming from within. "Chapter 20: The Whole World is Ending."


	20. The Whole World is Ending

**Chapter 20: The Whole World is Ending**

"Suits me," Chara said, the doorway shattering into fragments behind him.

When she'd last seen Chara, she didn't seem all that different from when they'd met on the schoolyard. Dustier and unkempt, yes, but not like this. This was terrifying, making Frisk feel like she'd be safer hiding with Flowey than standing here where they could see each other. There was something not right about the way he held himself, like he didn't know how the girl's body he was in worked. With blood red eyes, his skin and hair had paled as if ingrained with dust. A heart-shaped locket shone on his neck, just like what Asriel had now, only his had flickers of many colors rather than just white.

Then there was what was on his skin _a record of their sins._ Red markings covered him from head to toe, only blocked off by the torn clothing he wore. Over his left eye, there was a flower much like Asriel had, much like Flowey had been. A skull and crossbones was on his right cheek, a spear and lightning bolt on his left arm, a trident and a winged heart on his right arm. And those were just the largest of many symbols that told a horrifying story. With all those changes, it was impossible to see him as human anymore.

"Ah yes, we're all together at last," Flowey said eagerly. "Nothing can stop us now!"

However, Chara smirked at him. "What are you talking about, flower? All together? You're clearly split in half and that won't do."

His TV face got nervous, his vines slithering back. "I, well I haven't had a soul in so long, and, and she made him completely batty, so..."

"Quit fussing like a baby and pull yourself together," Chara said, waving a hand dismissively. "Use your soul's form, because you look ridiculous."

"Aw come on, I can help you like this," Flowey said, trying to play it cool but his vines were still shifting as if nervous. "I managed to kill everyone until I reloaded and just took their souls straight."

Glowering up at him, he stated, "Flowey, you're a fucking idiot. You wrecked Asgore's soul when I needed it to take the human souls and break the barrier; we're just lucky that the crown immediately picked a successor whose soul I could claim. If you really wanted to help, you should've used your vines to tie Sans to one spot. That would've let me deal with him a lot easier, and without losing my awareness of both sides. The only thing that you're important to me for is that you're the vessel for my brother's memories, so shut up and give those back."

"O-kay Chara," he said meekly, his massive vine-machine hybrid fading away to nothing. Even all the little flowers around vanished.

Asriel floated closer to them, vine patterns forming on his clothes. A crown of buttercups and sun morpheus flowers curled around his long horns and wrapped around his head. "It's been so long."

"Since we've been in two different bodies?" Chara asked. "I guess so."

Meanwhile, Frisk glanced around to see if there was anything that could help. They were back in the strange starry space, a circle of light around them. Beyond that light... what was out there? She took a step back and glanced down, seemingly into eternity. She quickly stepped back towards the center.

The other two hadn't noticed her moving. Asriel looked down. "Chara..."

He touched his locket. "Anyhow, you got your locket back, good for you. It took some effort, but I brought something over for you." Chara then pulled a pale white soul out of the locket, a heart floating near his hand. Seven other souls then followed suit, linked by faint flickering lines. Sending it over to Asriel's locket, he added, "Seven souls from my side of time, and the soul of Alphys who I used to bind them. You might be able to keep her by not breaking those binds. Took a ridiculous amount of effort because of Flowey, since I had to use the girl's soul and the six captives to break the barrier, then grab seven more to destroy the world and grab these seven for you so that absolutely nothing more can stand in our way."

As the white soul went into the locket and the other seven got absorbed into Asriel, he grew starry wings and trails of rainbow light to his every movement. But he dropped onto the ground they stood on, shuddering in a painful looking way. "Ugh..."

"Which means we've won at last," Chara said, proud at it. And then, he turned to her. Frisk was trying hard not to shake in fear, but he pulled out a knife that seemed like the Grim Reaper could make use of. She really had nothing to fight someone like him with. "And just one short piece of business to deal with..."

"NO!"

"Huh?" Chara actually stopped in shock, right before thorny vines violently tore through the space they were in. Frisk screamed in reflex, but none of the vines actually touched them. Instead, they were blocking Chara from reaching Frisk, or either of them from reaching Asriel. Scowling, Chara tried to slice through the vines, recieving a shower of sparks in his face as a result. The vines weren't harmed at all. "Hey, what gives?! Asriel!"

"You're not killing Frisk," Asriel said in a dark threatening tone, picking himself back up to float again as if nothing was wrong. "I won't let you."

Chara scowled, but he didn't look at Asriel. "You're going to let yourself be held back by a little girl like that? Geez."

"I-I've been a good friend to him," Frisk said. It was easier to keep brave with the vine separating them, although she still didn't like the look he was giving her.

"You're both my friends," Asriel said. "Besides, Chara, you're the one who made me what I am. I am the God of Hyperdeath, powered by thirteen human souls and the souls of nearly every monster of this world. It only takes seven human souls to make a monster into a god. Who are you to make me do anything?"

"You're g-going to go against me?" Chara said, looking at him and trying to be cold, hateful. But, he was backing away. "Yeah, I made you who you are, so you owe it to me..."

"No I don't," Asriel said, not a sign of hate or love in his voice.

His eye twitched at that. "H-have you gone crazy?"

"On the contrary, I am now very sane, thank you," Asriel replied. "The world is going to end, there's no question in that. It's always been running towards this fate. Since there is no future, we should have enjoyed the present as much as we could. But, the present is soon to be done with. The last matter to be settled is which one of you will be with me at the end and which I will banish to the timeline you already ended, without your ability to reload or reset."

"Well that shouldn't be hard," Chara said, gripping the locket he wore.

"But he hurt you, you can't, um," Frisk tried to think of what to say. But, there really was no future, no way for her to get home? She didn't want to believe that. Just, how did she convince Asriel of that when he seemed to have no doubt in it?

"People will always hurt each other, whether they're human or monster," Chara said. "But this is our plan, not yours."

"We will end things on our terms," Asriel said, bringing a hand up. "But first, there's a couple things that must be taken care. Like you, cat." He swept his arm out and called out the brown Cheshire cat that had been lurking around since she'd come to the capitol. "You don't belong to this world, either side, so get out."

The cat didn't seem too bothered, aside from a twitch of her tail. "Sure, I had to leave at some point. But if we're taking care of last minute things, there is something I should say."

"Fine, go ahead," Asriel said.

She grinned. "Good. Now, Chara? There's been some complaints that we have gone off script, which I'll admit to. But given your script, once you're done with this world, you're supposed to seek out other worlds to wreak havoc on."

After thinking about it, he nodded. "Right."

"Do you know how you would have done that?" After he hesitated in confusion, the cat nodded. "I do. You would have followed your player's lead into another game. Except, you cut the connection to your player. Remember, shortly before you encountered Muffet? You snipped a line to let your partner keep going. That option is no longer there."

"But, this is a game," Chara said. "There has to be a player."

"Does there? Well, I will admit to being Frisk's player. And since you guys don't want me around any more, I'll just cut the player line I had when I go."

"Hey wait, you can't do that," he said trying to reach for her. But the cat was keeping in Frisk's space.

"That could be trouble," Asriel said, briefly worried.

"But we're not in a game?" Frisk asked, confused and glancing at the cat.

"We are," Chara insisted.

"You were," the cat said, starting to vanish. "And that's part of this final decision too, isn't it? Should things revert back to just a good game? Or should you continue this development into an independent world with a future? Of course, the powers of save and load do endanger the continuity of any world. But you've got a god here who can set things how he wants. I wonder how you'll decide." She was just a grin for the last line, and then was not there at all. Then a whisper, "You know almost all you need to know, Frisk, I believe in you. All your friends do, including some you've never met. Listen."

(There are whispers of encouragement from TheWorldsInMyHead, evolu, TheBigCat, RVB327, TrixyTrixter, Qwerty224, Calsual, raistuumum, ConnivingG, Penumbra002, R bunkins, Shinju no Juubi, Siphon 117, Starempress Sophie, ThatGuyWhoWatchesVideos, TheAmazingAnita, The Moonfox Collective, Tidalgrunt, blazerflarey, darrelodin, roxas3214, williamcll and 27 mysterious voices.)

A string was snapped somewhere.

The cat had been the odd person who had called her occasionally to encourage her, Frisk thought. And her friends did believe in her, so there had to be a way to convince Asriel to not destroy the world. "Thanks for your help!" she called out into the darkness.

In the meantime, Chara had been thinking. Now he shrugged. "Hmph, well, it's like has been said. Since I ended my world, I've proven myself to be the strongest being there. That's what matters in a game: power. I did what I set out to do. So what if both sides of the world end? It's all just a video game anyhow. There'll be a new player and things will reset."

"Just like before," Asriel added.

"But we're not in a video game," Frisk said, feeling brave again knowing that others believed in her. "I've never even played a video game. I've got a home to get back to, and I promised I'd work on breaking the barrier. So there's got to be a future for that to happen in."

"And there is a past," Asriel said.

"Who's side are you on anyhow?" Chara asked, making a fist.

He shrugged and shook his head. "Haven't decided."

While Chara's fist shook, the vines obstacles got him to talk instead of fight. "Why not? Besides, what's so important about there being a past? There was always a past."

"Not like there is now," he said waving behind him. Images rapidly flashed behind him, some that Frisk recognized as her own memories. "Our backstory was just some images and words. Music. We never talked on the roof of the Snowdin library until it came up in your timeline. Nor were you established as a killer before you entered the underground, not until you told Sans that you were. And with Frisk, it was never said that her family owned a dog, nor any hint of what her parents were like. It's all a part of our world as we know it now. Of course, that can all be erased and remade at this point. There is more; it could all be real, or illusions."

"It has to all be illusions," Chara said. "Besides, whatever complications come up, our goal is still the same, the eradication of the barrier and humanity."

"Why?" Frisk asked. "And did you have to kill all monsters to do it? That's all a horrible thing to do."

He gave her a sharp look. This time, Frisk kept all her courage and looked sternly back at him. Chara looked away after a second. "I have no love for any human or monster, they can all be gotten rid of."

"Not even Asriel?" she asked. After all, the thoughts she'd got of him from Flowey showed that he considered his brother someone special. Asriel kept quiet, watching them both closely. When Chara closed his eyes, her eyes were drawn to the red flower marking over his eye. "You killed Flowey."

Chara wasn't bothered. "What does that matter? He was a worthless flower that could talk like an idiot."

"But he was Asriel's mind, with all his memories," Frisk said. "So you wouldn't just hurt Asriel, you'd kill him too. You're not his friend, you're a bully and his worst nightmare."

"Shut up!" Chara said hatefully, sending a spell full of knives at her.

She would have been hit by a bunch of them if Asriel hadn't set up magical stars to protect her, not letting a single magical knife hit her. "I told you not to kill her!" he snapped.

"Well she's wrong!" he said, barely holding himself back from attacking again. "I've got a different kind of soul, which means you're the best friend I could possibly have, Asriel. I shouldn't be able to have a friend at all; even Chara disappointed me. But we're still friends, we've got the lockets to prove it."

"Items don't prove you're friends," Frisk said. "It's when you want to have fun with someone, and cheer them up when they're feeling sad. It's when you want to support them in doing the right thing, knowing they'll support you too when you're in trouble. Like, my other friends aren't here, but I know they believe in me, so I feel like I can do what's right, and help my friend Asriel out cause he's in trouble. It's how you treat the other person that makes you friends, and friends don't want to intentionally hurt and use each other. A friend would say they're sorry if they scared you."

"Oh, well you must have lots of friends then," Chara said bitterly. "I only had Asriel, which makes him more important to me than anyone else."

He doesn't feel love like normal people, Frisk thought. He couldn't be a friend. Except, there was a tiny spark in him that tried to be, wanted to be. It simply took things entirely the wrong way with Asriel, not considering him like another person. Maybe it was that he wasn't raised right? It would be awful lonely to live life without friends. Then what if he got to feel love for a moment? There was a way to share your happy loving feelings with someone else.

"But you'd kill me," Asriel said. "And you have."

"That flower wasn't you, he didn't have your soul," he argued, turning to him and ignoring what Frisk was doing. "Besides, you were the one that ending up killing us both by not fighting back."

"I wasn't going to hurt people," he said, his stoic act wavering.

Snorting at that, Chara stepped closer to the vine separating them. "Well how did you think we were going to get the other souls to break the barrier? Or to give monsters the advantage in a new war? You guys were almost completely eradicated in the last one, gone from hundreds of thousands of monsters, maybe even millions, down to a few hundred survivors. Only a being like you now could destroy mankind like I wanted. Besides, why are we wasting time gabbing when the fate of the world is certain? We should just be done with it all, anything more is a pointless exercise."

"I will only have one of you at my side when the world ends," Asriel said, snapping back to his resolve. "It won't end until that's decided."

"Well what's taking you so long to decide?" Chara asked in annoyance.

"You killed me," he replied. "How do you explain that?"

He waved a hand dismissively. "I already told you, that flower wasn't you. And he screwed up my plans. You'll do what I say, won't you?"

"Flowey was me," Asriel said. "I thought if you crossed the barrier on your side and took revenge on humanity like you wanted, you wouldn't want to come over here to help us finish things on both sides. I might not have been able to talk to you in that case. But, I did fail you, on both occasions." He looked down. "Guess I deserved that."

As Chara smiled, Frisk felt ready. "No you didn't," she said. "He's just bullying you again. He's not seeing the world right, so he should get a chance to do that."

"What?" Asriel asked, looking at her in confusion.

"I'm only telling the tr..." he started to say, but then she hit him with Mercy. Asriel didn't block this, leading Chara to scream and drop back onto his knees, clutching his head. The red markings on his body turned bright.

"You do remember that I said that does nothing?" Asriel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Does it really hurt?" she asked, looking back at him.

On his side of the vines, Chara was trembling. Maybe crying. Asriel looked a little sad. "Not quite as you know pain to be. It calls attention to the emptiness in your heart. If the emptiness is not big, it can fill it and start to heal emotional wounds. If the emptiness is deep, the void is felt sharply."

"Well then it's not doing nothing," Frisk said. "Sorry, but I thought if he couldn't feel love himself, it'd help to feel love from someone else's magic."

"I don't know if that's possible," Asriel said.

Chara gasped, then looked up at him. "Asriel..." His voice was weak and shaky, as he looked now. At the same time, there was a small warmth to it. Then he vanished.

Hearing that warmth, Asriel's eyes went wide. When he disappeared, he dismissed the vines and flew over to where he'd been. "Ch-Chara?"

All of a sudden, they were in the boys' old bedroom in New Home. Chara was on one of the beds; his red markings were more pink and blotchy, which made him look really sick. While she was the same as always, Asriel was back to his younger white self. Chara was trembling still, and definitely had been crying from his puffy eyes. But he held his hand out towards his brother. "I... I..."

Asriel went over and clasped his hand with both of his. "What's going on? Why are we back here?"

"She made me pay for my sins, but I could not," Chara said, fighting to talk. "Not Frisk, no... Frisk let me feel love. Not for long, I'll lose it if this goes on too long. But I had led so many to die and suffer. Their lives flashing before my eyes, their wishes unfulfilled, their words unsaid, their everything undone in an instant. It's so dark, I can't pay for all I've done, I can't..."

She went to his side too. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to happen."

He smiled a bit at that, tears falling. "Heh... you'll apologize to me even though I nearly killed you. You knew I was horrible but you still showed me mercy and love. You really are something special, Frisk, just like Asriel. I'm glad, glad that he has a friend like you. Nothing like me, I was the worst possible friend."

"It's not like that!" Asriel said, putting his forehead against Chara's hand, possibly to hide that he was crying.

Able to feel love for now, Chara rubbed his forehead gently. "No. I don't know how long you two felt pass, but a lot of time for me. A lot of time to think, and know regret. I was a powder keg of hate and pain waiting for the power to destroy everyone. I hurt you so much; I forced you into a terrible situation and blamed you when things went wrong. Really, I shouldn't be able to even think like this. But while I can, Asriel, I'm so sorry, for everything. You were the first person to ever show me love and kindness freely, without hesitation. You were the best friend possible to me even as I was the worst friend possible to you. It was a spark trying to ignite real friendship, but I coul... or maybe I just didn't let it. I don't know if I could feel this way on my own."

"Chara," Asriel sobbed. His golden fur started to take on a reddish tint.

"You should be able to," Frisk said.

However, Chara shook his head. "I cannot pay for my sins, I cannot be forgiven. I destroyed my own world. As such, I ought to return to it and accept the consequences. But I wanted to say this all before I did. Make use of a little goodness when I had it and realized how wrong I had been. Asriel, even at my worst, I still treasured your admiration. But I abused it horribly. I did worse things than kill you."

"No," Asriel said, shaking his head. Frisk felt her skin crawl as magic warped strangely around Asriel, like he'd change again.

"You may not be able to realize and accept it now, but I did. So please, stop listening to what I taught you and do what your heart tells you is right. Asriel, please, let me go. While I can still say that I love you as my little brother, if you can. Frisk is the friend you deserve."

"No, I don't want to lose you!" he said, shaking his head even more. Then he turned completely black and vanished.

"Asriel?!" Frisk called, looking around. The odd warping was filling the room, fracturing it so that some parts were extra sharp and some were completely blurred.

With his arms trembling and barely holding him, Chara lifted himself up to sitting. "H-he's still here. Aw sh... is this...?"

She put her hands on the end of the bed, realizing something. "He can't decide, he doesn't want to let either of us go."

Chara sighed. "You're right. But if he can't, this moment before the world's end will go on indefinitely."

"But what's happened to him now?" she asked, looking at him. Hoping he would cooperate a bit longer.

When he looked at her, it was with brown eyes, not red. "This love I'm borrowing won't last, I can feel it eroding back to cruel nothingness. Hmm, you're a brave girl."

"I've faced lots of scary things because I got to get back to people who love me," she said.

"For now, I hope you can get home." He pushed the blanket aside to sit on the edge of the bed. "I think I know what's going on. It's bad, entirely my fault. But, I can't save Asriel." He gestured towards the door, but soon had to put his hand back on the mattress to support himself. "We're on my side of the timeline for now, but, the only thing on the other side of the door is the hell I created. Only he can bring you back to your side, and only you have a chance to save him. Frisk, do you know what monster souls are made of?"

"Magic?" she guessed.

Chara shook his head. "Their being is magic, but not quite. No, it is strongly believed, even by me, that the souls of monsters are comprised of compassion, joy, and hope."

"Oh, like with Papyrus' lessons," she said, remembering that part now.

"If that's what monsters are, then you'd expect them all to be good," he said. "For the most part, many of them are. But monsters also have a term called 'level of violence' that describes how much harm one person has done against others. They wouldn't have that term if they didn't need it." Chara looked down. "The monsters believe that that we humans were most scared of their ability to steal souls, but that wasn't all. Should a monster lose their compassion, joy, and hope entirely, they turn into what we still call monsters: violent beings that enjoy the pain and corruption of others. So please, save him before he completes the ruin of the world. I don't think he really wants to do this."

"I'll try," Frisk said. So she had to make sure he had compassion, joy, and hope or he would be ruined. "But, how're we going to get back to my time?"

"He has to choose between us. Please, forgive of me this, both of you. Be brave..." In a flick of his wrist, Chara had his knife in hand. Still brown eyes. "Because once this love is gone, Frisk, I am going to fucking kill you so hard that you are never coming back, ever."

"No, don't!" Asriel shouted, grabbing Frisk from behind to pull her away. A jagged tear came from the edges of her vision to close Chara off in his doomed time. But, he was smiling with the last warmth he had.

Once the tear was gone, they were back in the strange starry space. Asriel was an adult monster again, kneeling on the ground and shaking. Crying. "Asriel, it'll be okay," Frisk said, turning to him for a hug now that there weren't vines keeping them apart.

"No, no!" A rainbow of stars showered down on them, making her jump a bit back. They all flew away without hitting at all. "I didn't mean to do that, I didn't mean it!"

"He decided he was going to stay home," she said. But since Asriel wouldn't let go, and wouldn't decide between them, Chara had forced him to make a quick decision. It was horrible, but maybe he thought it was right?

"I didn't want to lose him again," Asriel said, clutching his locket. "I didn't want to lose you again. Please, don't leave me alone, don't leave me."

"You aren't alone. We can make things right."

He shook his head, the warping making it hard to look at him. "No. There's no time left before the world ends. That was the last decision, there's nothing more before us. Nothing around us. Nothing, just us."

"It doesn't have to be like this," she insisted. "You have lots of power, you can set things right."

In a distorted voice, he said, "No." A metal hand with sharp claws plucked her up like she was just a small toy. "There's no stopping this. We've reached the end, there's nothing more to say."

* * *

 _A/N: If you don't want your name listed here, just message me and I'll remove it to the mysterious likes. Still, thanks to the group of you who have favorited this story!_


	21. SAVE the Last DANCE for Me

**Chapter 21: SAVE the Last DANCE for Me**

The Ruins, gone. Snowdin, gone. Waterfall, gone. Hotland, gone. New Home, gone. The surface, gone. The earth, gone. The sky, gone. The sun, gone. The stars, gone. Flowers, gone. Rocks, gone. Monsters, gone. Humans, gone. Illusions, gone. Memories, gone. All of it, gone.

All of it save the two of them.

Good, it should all be destroyed. Good, it was like how he lived as Flowey, just as empty on the outside as on the inside. Looking at things now, souls didn't seem like much. They muddled up simple decisions, made wrong seem like right and right seem like wrong. This was much clearer having absolute judgment. Since the world was flawed and messed up, even as an incomplete world of a video game, it should just be nothing. Eventually the perfect world would come up where everything was this clear-cut and simple.

"Are you sure there's nothing?" his friend said. She was such a small thing, why should it matter that she was here? No wait, she helped bring this about too; she was the one who won out since the other side of time was gone now. Although, did he make the right choice? Not that there was a point to regretting that since there would be nothing to feel soon.

"I've got to follow through on my plans for once," he said. "And not mess up again. Once my soul and mind met again, this was inevitable."

"Well why do you want to destroy the world?" she asked, her fear making her quiver but her determination making her bold enough to question him.

Why? Did it really matter to answer that now when it was almost all gone? If she'd just be quiet and accept this, it would be easier to finish things off. There was nothing more to say, just repeating things. Couldn't she just let go? There was a powerful thought in his mind to just crush her and be done with things. Yet, also a powerful horror at the thought. Why? He was as whole as he could be, why was he still so divided and imperfect?

He decided to explain so she'd accept it. "To be honest, I don't care about that anymore. Flowey wanted to end the world because living without love is endless torment and loneliness, thus he didn't want to come to his end and let everyone else live on without him. Chara wanted to because he believed in power and thought that would be the ultimate proof of his power, plus he hated nearly everyone to some degree. And Asriel as the soul without memory, he wanted to impress Chara and didn't see well what that would cost. Any way you look at it, we were all fractured minds."

She put a hand on his thumb and pleaded up towards his face, "Then why are you going to still end the world if you don't care about that plan?"

"It's already been started and there's no reason to stop it," he said, pulling his starry wings around her. Maybe if she didn't see the emptiness beyond, she could handle this better. She wasn't the god around here, not able to comprehend this like he could.

"But there's lots of reasons to stop," Frisk insisted, hitting her hand down although he barely felt it. "Like your parents."

Strains of an old song in two voices filled his head, leading the familiar uncomfortable feeling of love trying to eat away at the emptiness to cloud it. "Wh-what about them?"

"Toriel wants to be a teacher, and if the world ends here, so does that dream of hers," she explained. "And your dad, well Asgore has done some bad things, but my Gran says that bad people can be redeemed if they want to be, if they do a lot of good things for others instead. I'm sure he wants to be redeemed and forgiven, but he's got to have a chance to try."

No, he couldn't fail... he'd made his choice, he was going to finish something he'd set out to do! It was the only way to make things fair. He couldn't get caught up in sentimental feelings and other people's dreams. But, there were other voices inside, trying to reach him, trying... to encourage him?

She went on, probably with the easiest people she could think of. "And my dad wants to work in a zoo, but he's had to work as a guard on Mt. Ebott instead, so maybe he could find that dream too if he had the time. My mom's always working to stop conflicts, plus my Gran talked about monsters and humans getting along, so they'll help with that dream for sure."

"That can't work," Asriel said. It really didn't take much for people to fight each other. After all, even his parents argued and split apart. Even... even he had a doubt in a person he loved and it ruined everything. If that could happen, the world didn't deserve to continue. It wasn't perfect, it wasn't good. The strains of the old lullaby continued.

"I believe it can, and I'll convince people of it," Frisk said, echoing what she'd promised the monsters on Mettaton's show. "And Mettaton wants to be a star for humans and monsters, he can do that as long as the barrier comes down in the future."

"But there is no future." She had to realize that.

She shook her head. "There can be! And what about Alphys, huh? She wants to be a better person, but she needs more time too. And Papyrus wants to be in the royal guard, and he wants to be a master chef, and he wants to drive a car, so he has lots of dreams that he could fulfill, whichever one he goes for. I don't know what Sans wants to do, but maybe he doesn't even know that, or I just don't know. He needs time too. And Undyne, I'm sure the police will be happy to have her help them stop bad guys on the surface. And there's Napstablook, he wants to keep making music, which he ought to be allowed to do, and Muffet wants to save the spiders in the Ruins and have a popular bakery. Lots of dreams are held by monsters that if everything ended right now, nothing would come of them, which is really sad and shouldn't happen. Everyone should have a chance to get their dreams to come true."

Asriel wanted to tell her that she was being naive and foolish, but something struck him. She recalled what a lot of others dreamed of, but, "What about you?"

Seeming unhappy at the thought of all those lost dreams, her eyes watered and she hugged Muffet's doll close. "I did so much to get home, and I want to get back home soon. Um, I'm gonna turn seven next month. I hadn't thought about that much yet, but I'd like to have a nice party with all my friends, the monsters and the humans. Um, and you, if you could come."

"That's not possible," he said. But why did it hurt to even hear the offer? "Even if the world does continue, I'm only existing now because of all the souls I'm holding. My own soul can't support me. At best, I'd turn back into Flowey, unable to feel compassion again."

"But while you feel compassion now, don't you want to give them all a chance?" Frisk asked. "You were in a bad place, but everybody I've talked to believed you're a good kid who gave hope to everyone around you. Are you gonna let them all down? Even Chara thought you were good and he tried real hard to love you when it was tough on him. You know the right thing to do."

He sighed, wondering if he should open her mind to everything that had been so she could come to the right conclusions. "The world's full of pain and suffering. It's unfair. It might be better to undo it all."

"No it's not!" she said. "It's full of happiness and hope too. And love. You've got a lot of souls, can't you feel their love?"

 **Tear her apart, stop that insufferable hope, let loose wrath to rip sympathy to bits. "No, you're wrong! It's all wrong, it's all got to end! Stop believing and let go of this world! It doesn't deserve to live!"**

 _crack_ comets with rainbow tails swarmed in the enclosed space inside his wings _crack_ a deep unreasonable rage flaring within him to demolish anything not wild _crack_ relinquish control _crack_ destroy the self _crack_ be destruction _crack_ be corruption _crack_

Her body wilted and her soul cracked. But it refused. But it refused. But it refused. But it refused. But it refused. But it refused. But she started sobbing, putting her face against a joint in his armored glove.

 **End it all now.**

 _N-no! No, what the hell am I doing to her? What's going on with me?_

There was nobody left to step in and set things right. The friend he'd done everything for was gone, of his own choice, and the friend he'd been depending on for support and encouragement was now crying and terrified of him. Nobody. With the terrible mess he'd made, the vast power he had meant nothing. What did he do?

 **End it all now.**

It was a strange feeling inside him, primitive like the fear that kept him from ending his life as Flowey. It was savage hordes razing the landscape. As he wondered why he felt like that, other ancient memories of the world (new, and yet ancient all the same) flickered through his mind. Monsters had all once been like that, like humans had all once been animals. To rise beyond such a brutal world, they both had to come together and grow into a kinder and gentler society. He was slipping into ancient barbaric ways.

And he was hurting his best friend terribly.

Full of painful tears, Asriel brought her close. "Sorry! I'm so sorry, Frisk! I d-didn't mean to scare you or make you cry! I'm sorry, please stop."

She kept crying. Not struggling, not trying to escape, just crying. What did he do? He had to make it up to her somehow. But, but there was nothing left but them and... there was a little bit of space around them. Rather dismal space, all dark with unnaturally colored clouds swirling around them. And he was a god, so didn't he control everything about this little space they had left? Asriel tried to think of the happiest most colorful place to make of this. Not home, no, bad things had happened there. And he shouldn't be so big, nor so scary.

Things changed.

Down to being a size more like his father, Asriel held Frisk close. This space was still small, but now it was full of sunlight from a clear blue sky. It was a field of flowers abloom in a multitude of colors and forms. Nothing else, as he wasn't sure what else to add. Or what it all was supposed to look like, but he dreamed the surface might look like this in some places.

"I'm sorry Frisk," he said gently, sitting down among the flowers and setting her down. "I don't know what came over me. Everything seemed lost and I..."

What did he say? She was still going to object to ending everything. But there was no way to undo what had been done. Unless... he didn't think it could be done. She kept choosing to continue. Maybe if he cheered her up? Looking at the flowers, he got an idea. He summoned another crown, this one of lilies. At least, he hoped they were lilies, he only knew the flower through pictures.

Setting the lily crown on her head, he said, "Well, I'm not going to scare you again, I promise. Here, it's just us here, so you can be the princess of these flowers." Frisk sniffled, so he took her hands. "Come on, it'll be nice. We could dance or just talk, whatever you want."

She then hugged him tight. Why? Wait, no, he knew why, she was just that way. She was so nice. If other humans were like her, things could go peacefully. "I-I'm s-sorry," she said, upset but trying still. "I said I'd be brave, I should be brave."

"You are brave," Asriel said, adding a bit of bird song to the area in hopes of making it more normal. He could remember hearing some from the throne room and garden.

"Does it all really have to end?" she asked.

"We can just keep to the present," he said, hoping this would finally convince her. "If you or I were to reset time, you'd end up back where you fell into the underground. There were some happy times, we could go through them again. Maybe you can even make them better."

She shook her head. "But that doesn't solve everything because we'd end up back here. Is that really all we can do? Can't we make the future the present?"

"I..." he wanted to try all of a sudden. If only to let those dreams be realized. "I don't know if I can stop it. Our intentions were powerful."

"You gotta try. I believe in you, Asriel."

"Frisk?" He wanted to believe, even if he'd not see the future himself. But he felt all twisted and wrung out, sad and hopeless but with a strong impulse to chase after this hope and let the others be happy. "I betrayed you in letting Chara come here. And I hurt you so much as Flowey, killed you a lot. You're not the only one, I've hurt so many people, especially my family. How can you still believe in me?"

"I think you were only doing bad things cause you were hurting inside," she said. "And I'm sure you want to do the right thing, you've just got to believe that you can do it. You've got to try, cause I don't think it can get any worse."

"You could be wrong about that," Asriel said, recalling what Chara's side of time looked like just before it was snuffed out of existence. Still, he had all this power; he may as well try to do things right for once even if he'd never get to see who was right. "But, okay. If you believe in me so much... and really, I don't want to see everyone's hopes and dreams die either. They should have a chance. Stay close, you're probably safest near me. And, close your eyes."

* * *

She did as he said. Gripping her hand for support, he summoned up a lot of magic; she could feel it through her whole body. She could see through her imagination the vast amount of souls working together under Asriel's guidance to stop the world from ending and put everything back to how it had been. Everything quaked around them. Before long, he picked her up in one arm and held her tight so as not to lose her. Frisk held onto him as bright flashes of light showed past her eyelids.

After a bit, he laughed softly. "Frisk, it's working." He put a hand behind her head. "You and everyone else will have a future; you can go home now. I was even able to break the barrier so nothing will stop you."

"That's great, thank you," she said, hugging him. The lights were still going crazy, so she didn't think it was safe to open her eyes or let go yet.

"Once I really listened, it was like seeing a new world," Asriel said. "Monsters care about each other so much. The lost human souls care about each other even though most of them didn't know each other in life; they care about us too. And, everybody cares about you too. It's weird, you've only been here a few days but your friends really love you. I do too."

"I love all of you," Frisk said.

"I know. Hey, but, actually, I didn't need all the souls I had to do all that. I still have some power left. Frisk, are you sure there's nothing you wish for? I don't have long, but I might be able to do something for you."

Things were quieting down around them, the lights flashing less rapidly. "I don't know, cause there's a lot I can do without wishing for it," she said. Then an idea came to her. "I know what I don't want. I don't want to keep this power of saving and loading, it's bad."

"But it's kept you alive," he said, worried.

"Sure, but I don't need it and it's horrible to live through your own death lots of times. I can do without it. I'd rather trade that for a chance to let you continue the life you lost."

"Huh, Frisk? But, I really shouldn't..."

 _Why not?_ a faint voice from nearby said.

Another added, _I think it's a good idea._

 _I hear my family calling me to come to them. You stay, your family is still here._

 _Yeah, and you deserve another chance._

 _We're the last remains of the other timeline, we should go._

 _Let this time continue on as truth._

Then there was another voice that sounded like Alphys. _Prince Asriel, treasure this second chance. Make something great of your life, we all believe in you._

"But I..." Asriel said as power swirled around them. It was still strange for a while. Then, she slid out of his grasp. His hand grew smaller. "Can I really?"

"Yes, you can just like anybody can," Frisk said, still keeping her eyes closed. She'd wait until there weren't any more lights flashing through.

There was a brief moment of quiet in cool air. Were things normal again? It had been weird for so long that Frisk couldn't be sure. Then several people called their names at once, hers in relief that she was okay and his in shock that he was there. Since it seemed safe, she opened her eyes and found Asriel still holding her hand. As a kid again, he had little horns and was a head taller than her. But the old picture in the now missing locket showed his fur as being while. His fur was blond now, still with the golden flower marking over his left eye. Seeing his buttercup crown, she touched her head and noticed she still had her lily crown too.

Toriel was the first one to come closer to them; she put a hand on Asriel's shoulder. "Asriel, is it really you?"

"Mom?" he asked, his eyes welling up with tears and uncertainty. "Ye-ye... why? Why did you do that?"

"Like I said, I didn't ask for that power and I didn't like it one bit," Frisk said. "But I like being your friend." When he shivered and turned like he might go to hug Toriel (but didn't), she added, "That was really scary, but the nightmare's over and anything's possible!"

As it turned out, one of the things Asriel had done was set the memories of all the others back to how they had been before. They briefly recalled seeing a flower, then nothing until they appeared here, safe and sound with no giant vines and no magical barrier. While they had been curious, her disappearance had been of concern (and thankfully brief). Asriel didn't want to say anything, not looking at his parents but holding his mother's hand when it was offered. But he had gone from dead to alive. Maybe he just needed some time to make sure he was.

Then sounds came from beyond a door nearby, a pair of footsteps that were wearing shoes. And hardly any monster wore shoes. "Someone's coming," Sans said.

"Hello?" a woman's voice came from the hall past the door. A very familiar woman, one who meant more than anyone else to her.

Excited, Frisk ran over and saw their silhouettes framed by noon sunlight. It seemed like forever since she'd seen them, even though it was probably about two weeks. "Mom, Dad!" Running over to them, she soon got caught up in a hug as her mom picked her up.

"Oh my gosh, where did you get that adorable dress?" her mom asked, happy and yet crying some. "I'm so glad you're safe."

"I'm sorry I wasn't home when you got home," Frisk said, holding her tight.

"It's fine, as long as you're fine," she said.

"Yeah, that's what really matters," her dad said, patting her back.

"You should come meet my friends," she said, pointing to the other room.

"Yes, let's do that," she said, carrying her to the other room.

Asgore had followed her to the doorway, but stepped back graciously when they came through. "Hello there," he said. "Uh, I feel I should say something more appropriate for the occasion, but..."

"It's okay, we weren't expecting the barrier to shatter so suddenly," her mom said. "Hello. And thank you for treating our daughter well, she seems happy in spite of things."

Smiling at Asgore while still having a hand wrapped around her mom's shoulders, Frisk figured it'd be better not to tell that he'd killed her once upon a time. Besides, that time didn't happen. The monsters were good. "She," Asgore hesitated a bit, then smiled back, "she's been quite an inspiration in her short time down here. It seems like this has all been for the best. Although, what were you doing at the other side of the barrier?"

Her dad was the one to explain. "When we got the call from her, we figured that you must have cell phone technology at least since she doesn't have a phone of her own. So we convinced a couple friends to come up with us by helicopter to set up a satellite station to improve communications between us. If you have anybody who knows phone technology or even computers, that'd be a big help towards making sure the systems are compatible."

"It would still help even with the barrier down, to coordinate efforts in how to integrate our two societies peacefully," her mom said, using her business tone of voice. She set Frisk down, so she went over to hug her dad now.

"Oh yes, that would be good," Asgore said, looking over at the others. "Alphys?"

"Uh, sure, I can help with that," she said, heading off towards the staircase. Undyne followed after her.

And then Frisk could be sure of calling her friends whenever she wanted. This was great! It was how things should be.

* * *

 _I felt that at any moment, I was going to fall down and turn to dust again. Then there was everything in my memories, all jumbled up and competing for my attention. When I looked at them, I could see fun times and bad times, hear banter and betrayal. I wanted to destroy and hug them. Especially with Mom and Dad, the conflicting emotions were jagged. I could hear two other trains of thought too, how Flowey would think of things and how the lost soul would think of things, often in conflict. But, I wasn't sure what I thought, of anything, except that I didn't know why I was still alive. Why Frisk used a wish that she could wish for anything with to wish for my future._

 _I was still a fractured being._

 _However, they came. Her parents, the first adult humans in a thousand years to meet face to face with monsters. And they were friendly, cordial, grateful. Sort of. Frisk's mother had a slight edge to her soul, like a concealed knife. She accepted the task of being an ambassador between monsters and humans without hesitation, to forge peace through negotiation and education. However, she was strong and it wouldn't seem out of place if she were to shift her tone and change things through force. Frisk's father was quiet and watchful, a sentinel. He didn't speak as much, seeming like he would quickly fight to protect what he cared about._

 _If things came to war, these two would have been extremely dangerous enemies. Instead, they were here as friends, offering their assistance first. All because monsters had treated Frisk well? At least, in the time that was true, that was history. Not the tangents that ended shortly after they began._

 _I had a fear the whole time the adults were negotiating that something would go very wrong and war would come._

 _It didn't._

* * *

(You see fragments of time before you, what may come.)

Asgore was no longer king. At this time, when a firm, intelligent, and wise mind was needed to work with the humans, he couldn't live up to what was needed. Fortunately, he got Toriel to agree to take the crown from him. She was better suited to making sure things went smoothly. He needed a lot of time to get himself back together. In the meantime, he stayed behind in the underground along with a number of other monsters who didn't want to leave.

And some humans. They had all agreed to live peacefully, abiding by the laws of the kingdom of monsters. Thus far, they hadn't been a problem. They were mostly a curious bunch, wanting to know how monsters had lived here. Asgore got them to agree to stick to the capitol so as not to trouble monsters who were uncomfortable being with humans. Thankfully, that feeling was lessening and a couple of the humans had been allowed to go as far as Snowdin to look around.

As for himself...

Asriel had come today. Sometimes he stayed here in the castle of New Home, sometimes he lived on the surface in Ebott Town. But mostly, he was getting dragged into exploring around with Frisk. "She keeps saying that she got bit by the adventure bug early, as a joke," he said. "Although what she does sometimes makes me think she got bit by a recklessness bug instead. She heard there was a maze of steep inclines and painted halls in the pyramid and was going to head right on in. I had to remind her that we didn't have the supplies for that kind of exploration, so she said we should go get some to return."

Asgore smiled, tending to his garden while listening to him. After getting the rock ceiling of this room replaced with a glass one, he could grow a large variety of flowers instead of just a few that could tolerate the low light levels. It was in doing so that he could accept what his life was now and see it as beautiful instead of just being nice in denial. "Didn't you go in? I thought I saw hints from her of such footage to come."

"Yeah, I have to get around to editing that," he said. "There was an actual curse on the place and she just said to look at it like another puzzle. Which worked out, yes, and we got out just fine. But one of these days she's really going to get in trouble again."

Back when he'd come back to life, Asriel had been silent and withdrawn. Frisk would never say what happened, but what little he said confirmed that it had been traumatic. While she bounced back quickly, he had to see a therapist for a few years before he found a new point of normalcy. And he was still sometimes troubled. Yet whenever he was talking about Frisk or around her, he was more lively.

Especially lately. That brought some troubling worries to Asgore's mind. Asriel was growing into maturity and wasn't quite there despite a headstart of it. Frisk had bounced from a little girl into a young woman in the same ten years. Even if her physical changes would slow down, the disparity would remain. In a way, Asgore wanted to warn him to keep cautious, to avoid the inevitable heartache. Or he might regress back to silence if told that.

At any rate, they had to talk. "Have you considered swearing the oath with her, to help protect her?"

"She asks sometimes, but," Asriel said, blushing and looking away.

Oh dear, this could be even trickier. But this wasn't an issue to shy away from. He was still his father, that would never change.

 _While he occasionally visited the surface, the former king mostly kept to a low-key life of tending to flowers and cheerfully talking with anyone who cared to say hello. Happiness can be found in simple matters._

* * *

Toriel had not thought she'd get into politics again. But at this time, there was a need for a leadership among monsters that Asgore could not provide. There was so much to organize, meetings to attend, decisions large and small that needed careful thought. She had accepted that his kindhearted nature had been great for when the barrier had been active; she had accepted who he was now as a friend, although there was no chance of getting back to what they had been. For now, the monsters needed her to help the reconciliation with humans.

This had been a long effort. It started with working with the humans to build more housing in Ebott Town for monsters that wanted to move out right away. Since they were unsure of how other humans would react, she and Frisk's mother Autumn agreed that they should keep in the local area at first. That had been a fun venture getting them all ready before winter, albeit a little trying in dealing with cultural conflicts. Like how human law required every residence to have a bathroom while monsters had no need for toilets as long as they kept to magical foods.

Then, it was getting monsters accepted by those outside Ebott Town. That was tougher. A fair number of humans had moved out on hearing monsters were coming back and those outside the area had been long wary. To counter this, they applied many methods to change their minds. The old Underground News staff turned their writing (and comic making) talents to making articles about monsters while some librarians and scholars offered copies of monster books to human publishers. Toriel herself, along with a few other level-headed monsters, went out to speak at universities and to government bodies to persuade them of their goodwill. Mettaton, along with other monster entertainers, offered their cultural gifts to the humans. In fact, Frisk and Asriel had made quite an impact on getting many human and monster youths to talk together.

Even as she thought it, Toriel heard a quiet jingle on her phone that indicated Frisk had sent her a text. She was at a meeting that was discussing new global laws to recognize the rights of monsters, although at this point she could spare a minute to check. Still, she kept it fairly hidden to where Autumn might be the only one to see it. And besides, Frisk had texted her mother as well not that long ago; Autumn gave a small smile of understanding.

'Hey Tori, we're back! We've got to talk with you cause we had a great idea to do something nobody else has done. Call me or Asriel when you have time.'

"I wonder what those two are up to," Toriel said softly.

Autumn shrugged. "Well if Asriel's in on it, it can't be too dangerous. I worry any time Frisk says she has an idea on her own."

"Me too," she said.

She also worried sometimes that she'd never get out of this political role even if monsters got accepted. She wanted to be a teacher, not a leader. But, people needed her guidance, even education. That was being a teacher in a way, wasn't it? Besides, she had to hope that this worked out and she could still go on to teach for a while. She was growing old with her son back in her life. Then again, she wouldn't trade that for the world.

 _The queen of monsters got thrown in the middle of the great debate over if monsters should be allowed full rights and freedoms, but she took it in graceful stride. Sometimes making sure others are happy and safe are more important than one's own happiness. Although, hopefully she can still find her happiness too._

* * *

On getting out of the underground, Papyrus' first idea was to find a new cooking teacher. It took some time for lessons to sink in that enthusiasm wasn't everything, not even in magical cooking. But his teacher (no matter how exasperated) never said it was bad. Just, there were methods to be followed and it was possible to be too creative. His enthusiasm did help him to graduate cooking school with honors and to get a job in an Italian restaurant quickly. It was the best job he could imagine, even better than being in the royal guard. He got to have fun cooking, and people really liked him and what he made.

Wing had gotten a job at a research university in the nearby city, along with Alphys. Sometimes Sans worked with them, and sometimes he didn't. He'd spent a year off doing some kind of training and ever since, he would get called off to do things with little warning. "Seriously, what are you doing these days?" Papyrus asked. "It's a wonderful improvement that you're putting effort into things, but what are you putting effort into?"

"Nothing you need to know about," Sans said with a wink. They were sharing lunch in the restaurant Papyrus worked at. There were so many kinds of pasta they worked with, although Papyrus kept a fondness for his still favorite spaghetti. Meanwhile, Sans had gone for fried raviolis and Wing went for linguine with alfredo sauce.

"Is that nothing you want to tell us or nothing at all?" Wing asked, poking at him.

"It has to be something because what kind of training teaches you to do nothing?" Papyrus asked.

"A really good training," Sans said with a chuckle. "Well..."

"SANS!" The sixteen-year-old girl who'd shouted over the crowd was looking right at them, annoyed. She kept her dark brown hair short and, in spite of it being late spring, still had a deep tan.

"I was expecting this," he said, amused at it somehow.

"You were expecting an angry teenager?" Wing asked, tilting his head.

"Frisk, you're not supposed to yell in here," Papyrus said as she came closer. "I know, I have to be careful not to sing too loudly while cooking."

"Sorry," she said, stopping by them and glaring at Sans. She got an old piece of paper out of her bag. "Sans, what is the meaning of this? You said you'd explain why we split the oath in the time capsule, but what you put in was that junior jumble from way back when."

Avoiding her question, he said, "Aw, that's sweet that you remembered it."

Frisk rolled her eyes. "Of course I remember, it had that goofed up 'word' that was supposed to be the top line. Why?"

"Because he knew you'd come right for him when you dug that capsule back up?" Wing suggested.

"That's a good idea," Sans said.

"Oh geez," she said, still annoyed as she set the puzzle on the table

"Hey I did say I'd explain it, right?" he said, patting her hand. "For one thing, the great difference between our mental ages was something I didn't think could work out for the long term. More importantly, I didn't want to involve you in my work."

"Are you gonna explain it or not?" Papyrus asked.

"I thought you were doing the same kind of work as my mom," Frisk said, a little confused.

Sans nodded. "I do. I'm a special agent that goes into dangerous situations to resolve them with as little violence as possible. If I had a magical bond with a kid, that could go really wrong, like how your parents are careful to protect you in case someone tries to do something against your mom."

"I guess that's an issue," she said, reluctant to admit he was right. "But then you're both negotiators, so who'd want to do something like that against you?"

"Negotiations are the first option," he said. "But there's others we're trained for if negotiations fail. And they do fail."

"What other options?" Papyrus asked.

"Whatever it takes to get the criminal to stop hurting others," Sans said.

 _Living his dream job as a pasta chef, Papyrus has been saving up money in order to fulfill another dream to be a race car driver. He is a very careful driver but loves speeding down the road all the same. It's wonderful that monsters can find happiness in making their dreams real now._

 _Despite having a respectable and dangerous job, Sans still finds time to find happiness in being with his family. And being lazy, often with the new excuse of fishing. It's a good life._

 _Wing picked his research into time mechanics again, but quickly found that going back in time had become impossible. The power of saving and loading no longer existed. While he kept an eye on how time was doing, he turned towards adapting the technology of the Core to help humans make their power plants more efficient. That kind of research caused him a lot less worry and gave him more happiness than what he'd done before._

* * *

Moving to the surface had been difficult for Undyne. She loved being out in the fresh air, with seemingly limitless open space around her. However, the job of being head of the Royal Guard to protect Queen Toriel was not the same as it had been under King Asgore. The queen needed someone quiet and unobtrusive, someone who could better keep a level head so as not to trouble the human authorities. Unfortunately, the human police force were unsure of hiring her for the same reasons. Showy heroics weren't a part of their work.

It wasn't easy on Alphys either. She didn't want to go back to her research into souls. At first, she thought she could use her talents in reconstructing technology. She done that because the monsters only had access to what the humans discarded, though. She had to do a lot of studying to catch up to what was current on the surface. Other than that, the main thing she'd done that humans had not was build a functioning robot and a type of camera that could capture magic. But since the former depended on having a willing incorporeal monster, it was limited in applications.

However, some brainstorming between them both came up with something that only they could do.

The set today was inside of the big warehouse, a large empty space that was full of electronic and magic sensors. This allowed for the setting to be built through computer animation after the initial shoot. For now, holograms marked the bare bones of buildings and a huge evil-looking tank. The tank was actually a two-armed crane being operated by one of the crew, heavily protected against magical attacks. It was wielding a gas station sign in one arm.

Currently, Mettaton was squealing on being grabbed by the other arm. "I didn't sign up for this!" he yelled in a girlish voice.

"Calm down!" Undyne yelled, taking an inspirational tone. "You wanted to be a hero too? Well you can't lose your confidence, no matter what happens! And I know you can do this!"

"But you're the greatest hero," Mettaton said. "I can't compare to you."

"You don't have to do that," she went on. "If you keep comparing yourself to others, you'll get caught in a losing battle. Do your best instead! I believe in you; that's why I brought you along." She then hurled a bunch of spears at the arm with the sign so that the tank didn't try whacking Mettaton in the head with it. "Your power is key to bringing this tank down, so come on! Let's keep fighting for justice and stop this tank rampage!"

Meanwhile, Alphys was at the filming console in a small room in one corner of the warehouse. The cameras they were using were of her own make as ordinary cameras could not capture most magics. Undyne's spears, for one, were difficult to film. However, they appeared on the screens here just as those in the staged battle would see them. Mettaton's electric bolts showed up clearer too; they'd be blobby glows otherwise.

Once they had defeated the tank, the set needed to be changed for the next stage. Alphys smiled and pressed the intercom button for a speaker near them. "Okay guys, that was great. Sometimes I wonder why we write a script at all since you both do well going off it."

"We do need somewhere to start, darling," Mettaton said, checking himself over to make sure nothing got dented or chipped in being grabbed.

"Well if I forget my lines, I just go with what's in my heart," Undyne said. "It works out either way, plus it's more fun!"

And it was so much fun watching them do just that.

 _Although initially disappointed that the surface world didn't need heroes, Undyne found a way to express her passion and ideals in another way. Her fans often praise her for making anime real. And she finds great happiness in that._

 _Alphys' camera techniques to capture magic that was considered unfilmable, even souls themselves, was received among human scientists, engineers, and cameramen with great acclaim, much to her surprise. She often works long hours trying to match the wild ideas that Undyne and Mettaton have for their show. Yet, using her talents to producing a live action version of the anime she loves has given her a great happiness and confidence in herself._

 _A popular game on the internet is guessing 'what will Mettaton do next?' He has people who hate him with a passion, people who love him with a passion, and people who watch because he doesn't get boring. But even if he's the star he wanted to be, he finds his greatest happiness working with his friends and family, whether on TV or the radio._

* * *

The young woman with spiked black hair and yellow tips held a helmet under her arm while speaking to the reporter. "Nah, I'm not scared. I love the thrill of extreme sports and motorcycle stunts happen to be my favorite of the bunch."

"And you've been at this for five years, right Chara?" the reported asked.

She nodded. "About that, although I got a motorcycle license as soon as I could."

"How did you get into these dangerous sports?"

Waving off the concern, she replied, "It ain't as dangerous as it looks, I've got geeks who crunch numbers and make sure everything's doable. Anyhow, you want that crazy story?"

"Sure."

"Well," she tilted her head. "You might not believe it, but back before I got my license, I had the most messed up vision you can imagine. Out of the blue too, I'm not telepathic or whatever, nothing to trigger it. But anyhow, I met with myself, only she was all covered in blood red marks and ragged clothes. She gave me a pretty hellish warning, basically that I needed to set my ways right or I'd get severely trashed too. I started seeing a psychologist who said that yeah, I had some issues and I needed to work harder than anybody else to be a good person. But I didn't want to be like _her_ , so I worked at it." She grinned. "Seriously, this stuff that everybody else gets scared at is what keeps me mostly normal."

 _The girl Chara that had been in the true timeline died young in a racing accident. But in the short life that she had, she inspired others to push their boundaries without hurting others. After all, she found her own way to happiness doing so._

 _As for the other two…_


	22. Yeah, Frisk, Why Don't You Fly?

**Chapter 22: Yeah, Frisk, Why Don't You Fly?**

The sun was bright; not even the shadows were dark. If he could spread his leaves out... no, he didn't have leaves anymore. Asriel still sat outside on the ground because that felt right. He missed burrowing, that was a quick way to hide. Or just going insubstantial and quiet. He so much wanted to just hide away from everyone.

He could still die, this life couldn't be real. Maybe he should die, after all that he did. Having killed his parents, his friends, those he didn't know, having left his brother behind to a time that would be snuffed out, having destroyed the whole world... yeah, he shouldn't be here. He could have accepted death then because he didn't deserve to live. But no, Frisk had to waste that wish on him and, well, he couldn't hate her for it. No actually, he could hate her for it, but he immediately hated himself for hating her. She thought she was doing a good thing to let him cheat death. But was he really? Was he really Asriel Dreemurr, or was he a pale memory? Asriel was dead and here he was sitting outside in the sun.

Who was he? Why was he here? Why was he alive?! He put his head in his hands and just couldn't figure things out. There was too much that was just wrong with this situation. All the wrongs were knotted up into one huge bundle of wrongness and he had no clue where to start trying to untangle it all. And there was still that primal spirit somewhere inside him that wanted to tear all those thoughts up and lash out at the world again. But that was really wrong and...

"Asriel?" His mother came over, warm and gentle as always... _I've seen you die, I killed you myself_... he should really get away from her. Run away, far away to where nobody knew him. He wished he could burrow, that'd be better. "Did you want to go to Frisk's party? You should start getting ready for it if you want."

Right, that was later. He could not show up to spite Frisk for wasting her wish. Or not show up because there would be other kids there and he didn't think he could deal with anyone else right now. But, it was Frisk and he'd feel awful for disappointing her. Nodding, Asriel got up and went back inside to clean up, change clothes, make sure he had the present... he got confused partway through because of all the wrongness distracting him, but Toriel got him back on track.

It was already a noisy party when they arrived, a number of humans and monsters gathered in the backyard, both adults and kids present. Asriel glanced at the line of trees not far from the house and badly wanted to go run from them and watch from afar. But it was her seventh birthday and he really should try to stay for a little while.

Before long, Frisk ran over and hugged him. "Hi Asriel! Thanks for coming."

 _I told you, in this world, it's kill or be killed. And I've killed you. We should be dead._

He mouth felt dry, but the one thing he said that week was, "H-happy birthday Frisk."

* * *

One evening after Frisk got back home, she surprised her parents by asking, What's it take to go to the moon?"

Her mother smiled at her. "Aiming for the stars now that you've explored the underground?"

She smiled. "Yeah!"

"You need to be familiar with science and machines," her father said. "Also piloting; being accepted as an astronaut requires a lot of experience in flight."

"Well I knew I had to study a lot," Frisk said. "Can I take flying lessons?"

* * *

"My camera's okay," Asriel said after checking his bag another time. He'd been going through regular therapy sessions for four years now and early on, his psychologist suggested he try out a hobby to express himself with. Cameras seemed like a natural thing to pick up and it did help. Gave him other things to think about, other things to talk with others about. Although the first time he got up the nerve to ride with Frisk in an airplane, this happened.

"Come on then, let's make a video to assure them that we are all right," Frisk said, taking this really well. Once she decided this was another adventure, she had no trouble with it.

"All right, if you think that'll help," he said, setting his camera to video recording. His laptop was working too, so they should be able to email the video link out to their families and friends.

Once he had it recording, she smiled and waved. "Hi everybody! Sorry we couldn't come back home today, but that's out of our control. We're, uh, up here in the mountains in a huge downpour as you can see, and this," she knocked her hand into the broken lightweight plane giving them shelter, "is the remains of my plane, it's totally lost a wing and there's some big holes in the back."

It was a huge downpour, the rain streaming down in sheets across the cracked windows that had been hastily sealed so water didn't get in. From the looks of the clouds that had been around when they crashed, this storm could last some time. The ground was already soggy, so they had to take shelter inside. Thankfully, enough of their gear remained that they were able to attach a light to the roof and film decently. And current cameras were a lot better in low light settings than what he'd used a century ago.

"The park rangers said they couldn't get a rescue out to us tonight, so we're camping in here until they can get us tomorrow," Asriel added.

She nodded. "But we're fine, we've got enough supplies to be okay. Anyhow, it was a really awesome crash!"

"Frisk, it was a crash, it can't be awesome," he said.

Leaning towards the camera, she said, "Aw come on, we're okay because of a really cool thing! Okay, so, we were coming back from the beach early cause of this storm brewing, only all the controls froze up on me and the plane started losing altitude. I'd trained for stalls in the virtual cockpit simulator, but nothing was working and we were getting awful close to crashing into this mountain. I'd already told Asriel to grab the parachutes, so I had to teach him real fast how to use them. By then, we were actually too low to use them, so I remember my lessons with Sans, grabbed Asriel, and teleported us both straight up into the air. That gave us plenty of time and distance to open up the parachutes and land safely."

"Though we did have to find each other and the plane," he said. "That was scary."

"A bit, but it was fun too, right?" Frisk said. After he shook his head, she leaned over and patted his knee. "Aw, I'm sorry Asriel. But we came out okay, so we'll be all right."

"All's well that ends well, huh?" he asked. Maybe if he wasn't suddenly falling through the air way over the earth and scrambling to save his own life with what he'd just learned, it might've been fun. A bit. He didn't want to parachute again.

On the other hand, Frisk was beaming. "Yeah! Oh, and did you guys know what happens when you use Mercy on a wild bear? You get the best bodygaurd you can get in a forest!"

* * *

"Please? Lots of people watched that video after the crash, even if they didn't know us before! We should make a thing of this." It took a lot more convincing, but mostly on that argument, Frisk got Asriel to accompany her on another jaunt in the airplane to deliberately look for some adventure. Hopefully not crashing an airplane again, but there had to be something.

And another, and another. It became a video series, the adventure girl off exploring the world in an airplane! Asriel didn't like showing up in the videos himself, sticking to behind the camera and talking her out of the riskier ventures. At first, it was simple: finding some interesting places in the wild areas around Mt. Ebott or convincing some farmers to let her try out driving their huge harvester, stuff like that. They learned a lot of cool things doing this, saw many wonderful places.

Eventually, one of Frisk's teachers agreed to give her school credit if she made reports out of her adventure videos. That was exciting, leading her to fly with Asriel further off to find a place that Asgore remembered. It was said to be a forbidden and dangerous area, like how people used to say Mt. Ebott was forbidden and dangerous. But, they could find no real reason to stop them from going.

It was a strange spot, in an open field where a surrounding forest kept its distance. Most of the field was lush and green, but there was a spot in the center where nothing grew. After making sure Asriel had the magic lens that Alphys had given him, they started the shoot. "See that dark magic there? It's eroding away, might even be gone eventually. But that and other evidence shows that this place was once where the Tower of Bones stood."

She didn't feel afraid here. In fact, not even Asriel felt much fear when he got scared easily. But there was a lingering sadness and regret to this place. Echoes of violence and war. Yet as she said, it was fading. Frisk walked over so the remaining magic would be behind her while she explained. Asriel gave her small hand signals until she got in a good spot.

"Now human legends say that the Tower of Bones was built by a very evil monster that terrorized the whole world. They say that he triggered the last big war between humans and monsters, leading the humans to fight back and eventually win. Some people say that the monsters were forced underground while others say that there was an agreement between the survivors and the humans around Mt. Ebott to seal them up to protect the last monsters. But since it happened so long ago, there's no humans who remain from the time.

"However, some monsters can live that long, and have. And what they say is that there was an agreement." She recalled the history that she'd learned in Waterfall, eventually in books when she got out of the underground. "They also say that it was eight years after the fall of the Tower of Bones that they were sealed underground, not soon after like humans believed. According to their records and memories, it seemed like there might be peace, but then the humans attacked again and lots of monsters died. Lots of them, and no humans died during the second part of that major war. And some very old books from humans suggest the same thing. So it was really our fault that that part of the war happened.

"But we're here to talk about the Tower of Bones and there is an amazing story behind it. Look, sometimes in the memory of magic that remains here, you can see just how tall this tower had been." She pointed up before Asriel went to pan up over the full height. While he did so, Frisk started telling the story that she'd gotten from Asgore and Gerson about this place. Not quite all of it, since the former king didn't want to be connected publicly to this place.

This kind of reporting got them even more viewers.

* * *

While their web show was mostly about the adventures, they liked to point out bits of ancient history that showed that humans and monsters once worked together in peace. Their audience that were monsters really enjoyed that. Their audience that were humans enjoyed it too, intrigued by these old signs being found by an eager young girl who was happy to share what she learned and what she thought. There were even people who wanted to chat with him in the comments, even though Asriel never showed up on camera and wasn't the star Frisk was becoming.

They were in Machu Picchu this week, after he'd commented that a picture of it looked interesting. Of course, she caught onto that and plotted a way to get them out here even though that required getting permission from their parents for passports and lots of flights on her part to earn the money. But even here, they found something. On a fragment of stone wall that remained standing, there was a familiar and significant marking.

Asriel gave her the signal that he was recording. Frisk was crouched by the fragment of wall. "Hey guys, look what we spotted," she said, pointing it out. "This is really special, it's called the Delta Rune. I've pointed it out a few times on past shows, but I don't think I've fully explained it. Here we are in an ancient city on top of a mountain, and the rune is here, so I'll talk about it in more detail.

"It has great meaning to monsters and a great many of them still treat this as a religious symbol. When I first learned about it, I was told that it predated written history. Well here's proof of that, here's a Delta Rune from way back when! It gets used as a sign for royalty for them, so this could be a sign that a monster monarch was once here. Or it could be a sign that this held some spiritual significance at the time." She went on the further describe the various meanings, including the prophecy of the angel that the monsters trapped underground believed in.

* * *

As they were walking around looking for a spot to talk about the Sphinx, Frisk asked, "How are you doing?"

"It's pretty hot, but I'm okay," Asriel said, wearing a hat with an enchantment that was trying to keep him cool. They knew it'd be tough on him to be out here in Egypt with his fur, but he still wanted to come out here to see various sites. Although, nobody around them would recognize him as a monster. They used another enchantment to make him look like a human, like a young man with long blond hair.

Frisk wasn't sure which form of him she thought was cuter, but kept that thought to herself with a smile. "That's good, although I meant more like how you're feeling. You've been braver lately."

"Oh, um, thanks," he said, looking away shyly. "I've been doing okay, I'm getting better. I mean, I'm not thinking that I should be dead most of the time, just on occasion. And, uh, I like this, getting out to see the world. There's so much out there, completely different places but you find some similarities here and there. Um, that's really interesting."

"Great, I'm glad you enjoy this," Frisk said, bouncing for a few steps. This was the best life! She hoped that she could keep going on adventures, exploring places, and finding things. If she hadn't fallen into the underground nearly ten years ago, she wouldn't have thought to try. Hey wait...

"I still feel strange when fragments of my old selves come out strongly," Asriel said, causing her to stop her wandering thoughts and pay attention to him. "I'm only here out of luck, and your wish, such a blessing that sometimes I don't know if I deserve it. But, I'm trying not to get lost in that again." He smiled, a soft brightness that she was starting to see come out of him more and more. "This life I have is a blessing and I have to make the most of it, do something great with it. I mean, even if I'm just your camera and tech guy, it's still great."

She grinned back. "Yeah, I couldn't be doing this without you! And don't you forget it!"

"Oh, F-Frisk!" he said, blushing at that.

That made her laugh. "Sorry. Oh, but I just had the best idea for our next series! Wanna hear it?"

* * *

Before they set off on their biggest project to date, they had to come back home to talk to various people about it. Not exactly getting permission, but some of their past videos that went heavily into what monsters believed got firestormed with criticism from those who believed monsters should not be a part of the modern world. Frisk had been all excited, but Asriel worried that this could cause the biggest firestorm of all. On the other hand, it might just open up the eyes of those who didn't know better, convince those humans who were still on the fence about if monsters should be accepted peacefully as equals again.

And before that... they had a wedding to attend.

There was other people with cameras, but Asriel had volunteered to take most of the official photos for Undyne and Alphys. It had been a unique ceremony given the two involved. In a good way, it had been a lot of fun and he got so many great shots that it'd be a chore to pick through the ones to focus on. He was at the reception now, catching more casual shots of people having fun while Mettaton's band played live music. He noticed that his mother and Sans were keeping close together today. Were they romantically involved or just hanging out as friends when they didn't see each other often? It was something that even he wasn't sure of.

Over at a table across the way, the two bridal parties were chatting with each other, laughing often. Asriel couldn't help but smile when he glanced over their way, occasionally sneaking shots at them. Alphys had asked for some of her old friends to be with her, Mettaton and a pair Asriel didn't know well named Catty and Bratty. The two ladies had gone for pink dresses with rosettes while Mettaton had to be talked into dressing down so as to not outdo the couple. But for Undyne's party, she had put Papyrus in a seafoam green suit and Frisk in a matching scale dress that had spikes coming off the shoulders.

She didn't seem much like a bridesmaid in that, but Asriel thought she was still pretty. Although, he hadn't said anything to her about that. He really shouldn't. He and his father had talked about that for a long while recently. In spite of all the strange things that had occurred to him, he was still considered by his own magic to be a monster of royalty, thus his lifespan was indefinite. But humans had very definite lifespans, so he should really keep his tongue and keep her as a friend. Although, that wasn't what his father had said. He had to think over if the risk of loss was worth the happiness he might get.

"Turning into a wallflower again?" Sans asked abruptly.

Asriel tensed at that, barely keeping himself from yelping in surprise. Nearby, Toriel put a hand to her mouth, seeming to hold back a chuckle with great effort. "Oh Sans, that was tasteless. He's being more of a shuttershy."

"You two," Asriel said, putting his hand on his head. Of course, that just made them laugh.

Toriel patted his shoulder before sitting down by him. "Why don't you take a break and go chat with some of the others? I can handle your camera for a little while."

"Thanks Mom, there should be plenty of room left on the card," he said, handing it off to her. He was wary of letting his camera out of his sight ever since he'd had one stolen from him on one trip; this one was even more expensive than that one. But, it was in good hands here, at least as long as Sans didn't get a hold of it and took a photo of something silly.

"You could go as Frisk for a dance," Sans added.

"I can't do that," Asriel said, trying not to show how nervous that made him.

"I'm sure she'd be happy to," Toriel said, smiling warmly at him.

"Yeah, and it's so obvious between you two that you might as well stop pretending to not be a couple," Sans said, winking at him.

"We aren't, really," Asriel said.

Sans snapped his fingers. "In that case, you'd better get her before anybody else does. She's pretty, clever, and popular so this might be your best chance."

"I don't know about that, we're good friends as it is," he said. And that'd be the hardest part if it didn't work out; he really didn't want to lose his friendship with Frisk. He did love her, but should he tell her?

"Don't be afraid of what may come in the future, my child," his mother said. "Follow what your heart says is true."

"Mom," he said, touched by her encouragement but not sure what to say.

Then there was a familiar call, "Asriel!" Frisk came over, smiling energetically and grabbing his arm. "Come on, let's go dance."

"Wha, hey, what?" Asriel stammered as he got pulled to his feet. Sans was chuckling behind him.

"We're at a wedding reception, so we've got to dance a bit," she insisted. "And I'd rather dance with you than anyone else." That made Toriel laugh while Asriel got flustered enough that he didn't know what to say but didn't fight it either.

Of course, his mother took several shots of the two of them. Thankfully, he could erase the really embarrassing ones before she got prints of them. He did keep a couple of those pictures to himself, though.

* * *

There were many stories told during the wedding reception, including the one about how she had inadvertently brought Undyne and Alphys together when she had no clue she was being a matchmaker. Frisk had never realized that, but she was happy to learn about it. In fact, there were many other thigns that she hadn't realized at the time, about how she affected the monsters and how they'd affected her. Leaning those things was getting her more excited for the upcoming laws that would recognize monsters as equal the humans, a peace treaty between the two races to live together once again. It meant that other people would get to learn such things and be changed.

Another thing she was excited for was something she pulled Asriel aside for. A crescent moon was showing up. "We're gonna go there!" she said, pointing it out.

"To the moon?" he asked in surprise.

"Someday, hopefully soon," Frisk said. "I sent in a few questions about possibly taping an episode or two there at the moon base. And one of the astronauts there replied back saying that she was a big fan of our show and she'd be happy to let us, but we have to go through a long process of medical checks and legal stuff before they'll let us. She's gonna work with us, though, maybe even get us permission to go out in a moon buggy. It'll still be months at the earliest."

Asriel never got as openly excited or emotional as she did, but she could tell from his eyes that he was eager to go on that adventure. "Wow, but we'll really get there? That's amazing. Heh, but, you promised me that a long time ago."

"I know, that's why I was bugging them," she said.

"Really, you remember that?" he said, rubbing at his ears as if not believing he heard that right.

Laughing, Frisk twirled around. "Of course I do! I always meant to, that's why I learned to fly an airplane and all sorts of other stuff. But if we don't have to become full on astronauts to go, that's even better because then I can focus more on all the adventures we have here."

Asriel laughed a bit. "Yeah. Actually, um, I didn't really believe you were being serious back then. That was when I was falling apart from everything going on, though, and that was one of the hopes that led me to start pulling together again, that we would see the moon someday."

"It all worked out well, hasn't it?" she asked, feeling bright with happiness. "I mean, I saw the end of the world, but now every day that I wake up, I feel happy that it wasn't the end and we get to go around and see how awesome the world is. And then share it all with other people, it's really the best."

"Yeah," he said with a nod. Then he summoned a red rose into his hand, still adept in magic involving flowers and planets. "Um, I was thinking, about how you keep offering to swear the oath of friendship with me."

"Do you want to?" she asked, trying to think of where to find a red string right now. Or maybe he was prepared.

"Not really," he said oddly, then pressed the flower into her hand. "You're very important to me, there's no doubt in that, but I..."

* * *

After making sure that they were going to be taped right, Asriel sat down by Frisk. "Okay, whenever."

She smiled at him, then turned to the camera with her usual wave. "Hi friends, it's your adventure girl Frisk here with a long adventure planned out for this summer. And yes, these are really huge flowers here, but first of all, I've got to introduce you to somebody important here."

"They already know me," he said as part of what they'd planned.

"Well yeah, but they've never seen you except when you're pretending to be human," she said. "As you might've already noticed, this here is my camera buddy Asriel. Actually, Prince Asriel, the son of the current queen of the monsters." Then she gripped his shoulder and grinned, "Isn't he a cutie pie?"

"Frisk!" he said, hoping he wasn't blushing too much.

"Well you are and now they'll believe me," she said. "And we're here among these huge flowers because we are actually in the underground realm where all the monsters used to live behind the barrier that kept us separate. Why don't you explain why?"

"The flowers or the adventure this time?" he asked, partly to calm down.

"Adventure first, we'll get to the flowers," Frisk said, letting him go.

"Well given the recent treaty and bill of rights between monsters and humans, we felt like we should explain about how this all got started," Asriel said. It was better going off of what the plan was, at least for him. "And a little over ten years ago happens to be when the two of us met. Frisk got lured up Mt. Ebott when she was just six years old and fell down right here in this spot with these giant flowers, as her very first adventure. I met her here, sort of, I mean, I was a flower at the time."

Frisk leaned towards the camera and whispered loudly, "Don't worry guys, he got better!"

That made him smile. "Right. So our next adventure will be following in the footsteps of our first adventure, traveling through the underground and letting you all see some of what life was like down here. There's still a good number of monsters who remain down here, plus we've invited some of our best friends to come back to tell more of the story with us."

"And I'm making him spend time on camera since this is his old homeland," she said. "So if our quality goes down, sorry guys, it's probably me on the camera because he's a whiz with them and I couldn't match his leet camera skills no matter how hard I tried."

"You won't be that bad," Asriel said. Then they got around to explaining about how this area was a mana spring that caused these sacred flowers to wildly increase in size.

* * *

(You find a tiny clip of the Adventure Girl web series that has never been posted before.)

Asriel: Actually, I gotta say... the moon is boring compared to Earth.

Frisk: (laughs) At least we get a really pretty view of the world from here.

Asriel: That's true. Um, Frisk? Thank you, for everything. You saved me and proved to me that life is worth enjoying. It's taken me a long time before I could feel grateful for that, but I finally feel like I can leave my past behind me now.

* * *

 _Frisk: Hey guys, glad you're enjoying the underground series! Now I know we've been ignoring a lot of those questions about if we'd sworn the oath of friendship or if we're something more than that. I'm only going to say this once, so you'd better pay attention._

 _Ready?_

 _It's between us and you're better off finding your own adventures in life now. :D Tootles!_

* * *

 _A/N: And that's the end, hope you liked it! I loved writing it, but I had a thought a little while back. One of the fun thing with Frisk is that they're intentionally vague even with gender. So here I made Frisk a young chatty innocent girl who's pacifist because she gets scared of fighting and can't actually battle. But if I were to flip things around and make Frisk a quiet boy who's older than he seems due to time travel and is pacifist because he's seeking redemption from genocide's reset method, that's still Frisk. It makes the resulting story different, of course... see you in Rewinding Ways._


End file.
